


Gary and His Neighbor

by Ruth_Oakenshield



Category: Gary Fuller - Fandom, Into the Storm - Fandom, Richard Armitage - Fandom
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24351325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruth_Oakenshield/pseuds/Ruth_Oakenshield
Relationships: Dating - Relationship, Family - Relationship, Friends - Relationship, father/son - Relationship, neighbors - Relationship
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

“Dammit!” You cussed as you dropped the mail off the top of the pile of stuff in your arms. You looked down at the envelopes all over the floor on the landing of the stairs. “Ugh!” You groaned, realizing you’d have to set your armload of groceries and books down to pick it all up.

“Here, allow me, Miss!” Came a smooth baritone voice from the landing above you. You look up and see a tall man with dark hair coming quickly down the stairs.

“Thanks!” You say as he reaches the landing you’re on and stoops to pick up your mail.

He stands and you realize he is much taller than you. The top of your head just barely reaches his shoulders. You tilt your head up to see his dark hair is starting to get a few silver strands in it, you look at his face and he is looking down at you with bright blue, twinkling eyes that have laugh lines at their corners.

He tilts his head and smiles a mischievous smile at you. “You look like you have an arm full. Would you like some help?” He asks.

You grin and nod. He holds out his hands and you hand him your big stack of books you just borrowed from the library. He chuckles and motions for you to lead the way.

You head up the stairs and down the hall to the corner unit. He follows you noticing you have an unusual gait to your walk. And watches you walk down the hallway as he follows you. He glances down at the books in his arms.

“What’s with all the books?” He asks. You glance back and grin. “I don’t have many friends here yet, and I like to read to fill my time during the day. I get lost in a good book and tend to spend half if not the entire day reading if I’m not careful.” You giggle. He chuckles.

You arrive at your apartment door. You pause at your door and dig around for your keys in your jacket. Unlocking your door you say, “Thanks for picking up my mail and helping me with the armload of books, Mr???”

He chuckles. “I’m Gary Fuller. My sons, Donnie and Trey and I just moved into the apartment a month ago.” He tells you as he leans against the wall smiling at you. He holds out his hand offering to shake yours. You reach out and place your hand in his and give him a firm handshake. He looks down and sees your hand has several scars.

You notice he is looking at your hand and quickly pull it away. Tucking some hair behind your ear nervously you give him a smile. “I’m y/n. I moved here after the tornadoes raced through. My home was completely destroyed as was my town.” I just got all the estate and insurance stuff finally settled so I was finally able to pack up what was left and move here.”

You explain. “I found this place two months ago.”

He smiles. “Yeah, we were in Silverton and it got hit hard too.”

Your eyes got huge. “I heard about those. They had that EF5 tornado hit!”

Gary closed his eyes and remembered the day. “Yeah, I almost lost my oldest, Danny, in it.”

You look at him and saw the hurt on his face. “How old are your boys?” You ask. He chuckles, “They’re teenagers.” He explains, “Their mom died a few years ago so now I’m raising them… or trying to… they are at that age where they don’t want to listen and are trying to be more independent.” He explains.

You nod, remembering your brothers were like that.

“Um, do you want to come in and have some ice cream?” You ask trying to change the subject.

He looks up and gives you a surprised look. “Yeah, thanks.”

You open the door and head in. Gary follows you and closes the door. He chuckles as he looks around. Your apartment is basically the mirrored image of his.

He sets the books and your mail down on the table in the dining room and then looks around as you take off your jacket and unload the groceries. He stops in the dining room and watches you.

You look up and see him leaning against the window looking around and watching you. “Sorry it’s a mess in here. Still unpacking.” You say with a blush.

He grins and walks over to the kitchen. “It looks better than ours. We’re still trying to find which box our dishes got put into.” He laughs.

You giggle, “Well mine are in that cabinet. Grab the bowls, will ya?” You ask him as you pull out a chocolate with marshmallow ice cream out of the grocery bag.”

Gary’s eyes lite up and he opens the cabinet and pulls out two bowls. He hands them to you and notices the scars from your hand goes all the way up your arm.

“Did you get those when the tornadoes hit last summer?” He asks.

“Huh?” You reply then look over at him confused. He chuckles and touches your arm gently indicating your scars. You jump a little at his touch.

“Oh, yeah. My apartment building fell in on us and I got buried in the rubble. I had hid under my butcher block table, but my arm was sticking out and got messed up.” You explain.

“The spoons are in the drawer behind you.” You tell him as you dig in the drawer in front of you for the ice cream scoop. You find it and set it on the counter. He digs out two spoons and puts one in each bowl.

You get the tub of ice cream open and try to scoop it out but it’s frozen too much for you to get much out with your injured hand. You growl in frustration. “Sorry, Guess I gotta let it thaw a bit.” You tell him.

He chuckles. “May I give it a try?” He asks. You look over at him and shrug, handing him the scoop. “Knock yourself out.” You say as the two of you switch places and you watch him.

He takes the scoop and turns to the sink. He runs the water so it’s hot and then takes a glass from the dish rack. He fills the glass half full, then shuts the water off.

You look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Something the lunch lady at the school I worked at showed me. This trick works great.” He explained.

You watched as he dunked the scoop into the hot water, counted to 10, then pulled it out and scooped the ice cream with ease. “Wow! That cut through the ice cream like a hot knife through butter!” You exclaim.

He grinned and looked at you. “ How much do you want?” He asks. “Um, two scoops please.” You reply.

He scoops out two scoops for each of you then puts the lid on the ice cream container. “Want me to put it in the freezer for you?” He asks. You nod.

He opens the freezer and puts it in, noticing you don’t have much in there.

He closes the door and turns back to you. You’re smiling and hand him a bowl, and you grab the other one.

He follows you to the living room and you both sit on the couch. He looks up and admires the paintings on your wall.

The one above the couch is a big painting of a waterfall, the other is a scene of a river in a forest. You see him admiring the pieces.

“Do you like them?” you ask then put a spoonful of ice cream in your mouth. He nods and looks back at you with the spoon handle sticking out of his mouth. You giggle.

He nods, grinning, and pulls the spoon out. Once he swallows the ice cream he says, “They’re wonderful. Very relaxing.”

You tell him that your sister painted the waterfall one and her friend painted the river scene one. That they were one of the few things that miraculously survived the tornadoes.

He looked back up at it, noticing a little water damage, but that it overall didn’t affect the quality of the painting.

You both were quiet for a few minutes as you ate your ice cream. “You said you worked at a school in Silverton. What did you do there?” You asked him.

He looks over at you and smiles. “I was a vice-Principal of Silverton High School.” He tells you. After the tornado flattened the school and a good chunk of the city, I decided to move my family out of ‘Tornado Alley.’ So we came here to start over. The boys were pretty traumatized by the tornadoes. They would wake up screaming in the middle of the night so they were happy to move.”

You nod. I get those still sometimes. My psych person says it’s a form of PTSD. She is helping me get a service dog because of my injuries and the PTSD.” You explain. “Are you guys working with anyone to help with the night terrors?” You ask.

Gary shakes his head. “Not yet. Still trying to get situated here. I got hired on as an assistant principal of the middle school here. Much to my boys’ relief.” He chuckles.

“What, they don’t want Dad being able to check in with them during the day and seeing them in the hallways?” You tease.

Gary laughs. “Apparently not.” He says with a grin.

“Well I can give you the name of my Psych person I see. She is great and they have several guys who work there too that I’ve talked with when Allison can’t make it.” Gary nods. “I will ask the boys and see if it’s something that they want to do.” You nod.

“Do you have a room mate? I noticed you have the same layout as our unit, only it’s a mirrored image. This is a 3 bedroom unit, isn’t it?” Gary asks.

You nod. “It is a 3 bedroom one, but I have no roommates. I work from home Part time, so one room is my office. I’m on disability because of my injuries, so it covers most of my bills.” You explain.

He nods. “What do you use the third bedroom for?” He asks. You smile, stand and take the two bowls. “Come see.” Is all you say and then go to the kitchen and rinse them out and put them in the wash basin in the sink.

Gary stands and follows you. He waits as you rinse out the bowls then follows you to the third bedroom at the end of the hallway. You open the door and he looks in. “Go ahead and go in.” You tell him. He looks down at you and you smile back. He steps in and looks around.

There’s a workout system, a small rack of dumbbells and an exercise ball in one corner, and a huge art easel in another holding your latest work. A folding table loaded with paints, brushes, canvasses and cloths. A few unfinished paintings lean against one wall on a plastic tarp on the floor and a few completed ones hang on the wall. There’s some shelves with more painting supplies, pictures, Knick knacks and inspirational cards on them.

“It’s my therapy room.” You explain as you lean on the door casing.

He looks around wide eyed. “You paint too?” He asks.

You step in and sit on the workout bench. “Yes, but I’m nowhere near as good as my sister was.” You say. You walk over to a shelf in the corner and remove a photo frame that has a picture of the two of you in it. It’s your favourite photo of the two of you. Richard comes and stands behind you and looks down at it.

“Is that her?” He asks quietly. You nod. “She died in the tornado. They hid in the fridge at the restaurant she worked at. The tornado dropped an airplane onto the restaurant and it flattened the building and the fridge.” You said quietly.

“I paint to keep her memory alive.” You explain as you put the picture next to a little figurine of two women who’s hair colors matched yours and your sister’s.

Gary puts his hand on your shoulder, “I’m sorry for your loss, y/n. Your paintings are beautiful. What do you do with them when you finish them?” He asks as he turns back to them and looks at the ones hanging on the wall.

“Some I donate to charity auctions, some I give away. A few I really like, I keep.” You tell him.

He looks at one you did of some picture you saw online. You couldn’t find any info on the photographer but you saved it and based your painting on it. He carefully takes it off the wall to look at it closer.

You smile. “Do you like that one?” You ask. He nods. “It is relaxing to look at. Reminds me of a kayaking trip me and the boys took in Colorado one summer.”

You come and stand next to him. It was one of your favourite paintings. Many people had asked to buy it from you but you refused to sell it or part with it.

He looked down at you then back at the picture. He hangs it back on the nail you had it on and looks at it again. “You really do beautiful work, y/n.” He says turning to you.

You blush and look at your feet. “Thank you, Gary.” You say.

Just then his phone rings and he pulls it out of his pants pocket. “I better take this, it’s one of my boys. He goes out into the hallway to take the call. You look at the painting Gary was admiring. Then got an idea and went to the kitchen. You were making tea when Gary came up to you and stood by the door.

“I gotta get going y/n, my youngest needs a ride with his friends to the mall.” He explains. You smile and nod. “Thanks again for your help on the landing. It was nice to meet you. Which apartment are you in?” You ask.

“We’re in number 7.” Gary replies with a smile. You hold out your hand and he takes it and gives it a squeeze. “See you around the apartment then!” You tell him with a grin. He smiles back and nods. “Bye.” He says and heads out the door.

You watch him go and then close the door. You take your mug of peppermint tea and go back into your art/workout/therapy room. You take down the painting Gary liked. You think about what all he had told you about his boys and their anxiety from the tornadoes and how they are struggling with the PTSD it caused. You remember Gary's comment of how he finds it relaxing. You nod.

You take the painting over to the table and turn it over. Grabbing your black sharpie, you write: ‘to Gary and his two boys, may this help bring some peace for you in an anxious world that we live in.’ And you sign your name and date it.

You take the painting and wrap it in tissue paper. Then place it in your cloth tote bag. You grab your phone and keys and head back out the door with your tote.

You drive to your local art store where a friend you’ve gotten to know there does professional framing for you when you have your art framed for auctions.

You show him the piece and explain who it’s for and why you’re giving it to them. He helps you pick out a frame that compliments the painting and he gets it framed for you. You write the same message on the paper backing of the frame as you wrote on the canvas. Then thank him for the work. He wraps it in brown paper and ties it with some cording.

You take it to the cashier and pay for the framing then head to the pharmacy to pick up your meds. While you’re there you pick up a card for Gary and his boys to welcome them to the apartment. You sign it and leave your apartment number below the signature. You pay for your purchases then head home.

You wrap the framed painting in some nice paper and tuck the card with “Gary” on the front into the ribbon. You go back to his apartment and leave it leaning against the door. Hoping no one steals it. Then you head back to your apartment, turn on some music and do your rehab exercises.

You don’t hear someone knocking on your door, but when you come out to the kitchen to refill your water bottle you see something shoved under your door.

You pick it up and see it’s a piece of notebook paper. On it is scrawled, “Join is for pizza tonight? 7pm, apartment 7 :) ” in what you guess is a young man’s messy handwriting.

You chuckle and wonder if it’s from Gary or from one of his boys. You guess it’s from his boys since it’s on notebook paper. You grin and decide to play along.

You take a shower and slip into a t-shirt and jean shorts. Knowing he has teenagers, you grab the new package of vanilla creme filled chocolate cookies you bought, and set them with the invite.

At 7 pm you grab your phone, keys, cookies, the invite and the thermos mug of peppermint tea you were working on and head to Gary’s door. The package you left is gone, you hope he got it ok and that someone didn’t steal it. You knock on the door and a young man opens the door. You assume it’s one of his boys.

“Is Gary here? You ask. He looks at you funny and you smile and hold up the invite. His eyes light up and he tells you to come in.

He shuts the door and introduces himself. “I’m Donnie. Dad went to get Trey and his friends from the mall. They should be back in a few minutes.

I found the package left by the door and saw it had girly writing on the envelope and that it wasn't sealed. I wondered who was leaving Dad a gift and peeked inside the card. Hope you don’t mind. I didn’t open the gift tho. I put the card back like you had it. Dad doesn’t know I invited you to join us.” He said impishly.

You chuckle. “I figured as much when I saw the note written on notebook paper.” You explained. “He mentioned he has two boys and I know how mischievous you boys can be!” You teased. He blushed bright red.

Just then you two heard Gary’s deep voice coming up the stairs.

Donnie looked panicked for a moment. “Please don’t tell dad I invited you!” Donnie says quickly. He hasn’t seen the gift yet, tell him you just brought it over and I invited you in!” He begs as he hands you the gift. You nod and slip the invite into your pocket.

Danny gives you a grateful smile as his dad walks in the door with the pizzas and Trey. He looks up surprised to see you standing there. Then he smiles and looks at Donnie with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look on his face….


	2. Chapter 2

Donnie smiles. "Hi Dad. Our neighbor here just came to bring you a present." he informed his dad teasingly and wiggled his eyebrows. Gary looks back at you with a raised eyebrow.

You chuckle. "I know how it feels to move someplace new and not know anyone. No one welcomed me here when I moved, and I remember feeling rather lonely. So I thought I'd welcome you and your boys. Here." you told him holding out the gift. "It's for all three of you to enjoy." you said with a grin.

Trey and Donny look up at you excitedly. "Come on Dad! Open it! What is it?!?" They say eager to see what it was. Gary grins and takes the pizza and hands it to Trey who puts it on the kitchen counter. Gary takes his shoes off and then takes the gift into the living room and sets it down on the coffee table. Danny whispers to you. "Come on...go follow him!" he says and gives you a teasing nudge.

You chuckle and follow Gary into the living room. Looking around at their apartment much like Gary had done in yours. He grins when he sees you following him into the room. "Want some pizza?" he asks. You chuckle and nod. He motions for you to take a seat on the couch and then he goes to the cabinet and pulls out the stack of paper plates. "How many do you want?" he asks.

"Two for now." you tell him. He nods. "Pepperoni ok?" he asks. You nod. 

"Want anything to drink Miss????" Trey asks with a raised eyebrow, not sure how to address you.

"I'm Y/n, and no, I'm fine. I got my peppermint tea in here." you say showing him your thermos. "Oh, I almost forgot, these are for you three too. But you have to share!" you giggle and pull out the package of cookies. 

"OREOS!!!!!!!!" The two teens shout and come running over. You hand the package to Donny and say, "You can have them AFTER you have some pizza!" He grins and takes them back to the counter.

Gary chuckles and brings over the plate of pizza and a folded paper towel as a napkin for you. "How did you know they have been begging for those?" he asked with a grin. 

"I had two brothers... they loved them too." you said with a sad smile and looked at the two brothers loading up on pizza and cookies.

"Come on Dad! Are you going to open the present or are we gonna have to do it for you?" Trey teases.

Gary rolls his eyes. "Guess I had better open it before they get their greasy mitts all over it. " he teases right back. You chuckle at their banter and take a bite of the pizza.

Gary puts his plate down on the table and wipes his hands on the paper towel he had brought to use as a napkin. 

He took the gift and pulled out the card to read it. He grins and hands it to the two boys to read. Then he unwraps the gift. You giggle when he looks puzzled at seeing more paper wrapped around it. The boys look up at you and ask, "Why did you wrap it twice?" 

You grin. "My dad used to do that to us when we got gifts from him. He thought it was a lot of fun to wrap our presents in multiple layers of boxes, giftwrap, Sunday comics from the paper and various string, as well as different kinds of tape. I didn't want to be as obnoxious as he was. The place I bought part of it from wrapped it in the brown paper so it wouldn't get damaged on my way home. I wrapped it in the other paper because it was what I had on hand." you smiled sweetly.

Gary chuckles and continues to unwrap it. When he pulled back the paper, the back of the picture frame was visible. The boys crowded in to read the writing on the paper backing. They looked up at you puzzled. "Turn it over, Gary." you said with a smirk.

He slowly lifted it up and Donnie pulled the paper off. Gary carefully turned over the frame and his jaw dropped and he looked up at you astonished.

"Oh WOW!!!!" The two boys said with wide eyes! That looks like the Waterfall and river we kayaked on in Colorado, Dad!"

Gary looked up at you with an expression you couldn't read. You raised an eyebrow. He looked back down at the painting and shook his head as if to shake off some thought in his mind. 

"Do you like it, Boys?" you asked Donnie and Trey. 

"Yeah! It's beautiful! Where did you get it?" Trey asked.

You grinned. "I painted it...a long time ago... and had it framed for the three of you to enjoy. Many people have offered to buy it from me, but I wouldn't part with it... till now."

"You what?" Donnie asked, surprised. "You painted THIS?!?" 

You smiled sweetly, "Yes. It was one of my first paintings I ever did. It was my favourite and was one of the few paintings I kept for myself because it made me feel at peace when I gazed at it in my therapy room where it hung." you explained.

Gary just looked at you speechless. He didn't know what to say. He never dreamed that you would part with such a beautiful painting.

"If you liked it so much, then why give it to us?" Donnie asked now intrigued.

You grinned. "Because your Dad told me about why you moved here. I was in Oklahoma last year too when the tornadoes tore through the area. The tornadoes flattened my apartment building and most of our town, and killed my family. I'm the only one left... and to be honest, I came close to not surviving as well." You told him watching as all three of their eyes widened and looked at you surprised.

"I find this painting relaxing and hoped it would help you all adjust to this new life here and help provide some point of peace in a world that is so full of anxiety and fear. My psych person had told me to find something to focus on when I get my night terrors or anxiety attacks. I have several paintings that are peaceful to look at. But I wanted you all to have one. Your Dad seemed to like this one, so I got it framed for the three of you to have and enjoy." you said and grinned, satisfied with their reaction to it.

The three of them looked from you to the painting, then to each other. "Thank you." Donnie said quietly. "I'm sorry you lost your whole family in the tornadoes. I almost died in the one that hit Silverton." he said quietly. Gary rubbed Danny's back as Danny stared at the painting. "It was really scary. What did you mean when you said you came close to not surviving?" he asked as he looked up at you.

You gave him a small smile. "When the tornado hit my hometown, my apartment building was at the beginning of it's path. It dropped about two blocks from my building. I was at home and heard the familiar howling sound and dove under the Butcher block dining table I had. There wasn't time to grab anything. When it hit, the building collapsed on top of me. I was on the 2nd floor of the three story building. The weight of the debris on the table broke two of the table's legs and it collapsed on top of me, it broke my back and crushed part of my pelvis, broke my legs and this arm..." you explain, holding up your scarred right arm, "... was badly broken. I was in the hospital for 6 months as I healed and had to learn to walk and do things with my arm all over again." you inform them. "I lost a lot of strength in both my arm and the rest of my body. That's why I have my therapy room."

Trey's eyes got huge. "Can i see the scars on your arm?" he asks. You nod and he comes over to your right side and sits next to you on the couch. He gently traces the long scar that ran from your shoulder all the way down to your hand causing you to shiver a bit.

"Wow!" he says quietly. "How are you able to walk, if your back was broken? I thought if your back gets broken, then you are paralyzed and have to be in a wheel chair?" he asks.

"Donnie!" His dad rumbles.

You look up and smile. "It's ok, Gary. I don't mind." He looks up at you concerned, but nods.

"The bones in my back were broken, but luckily they didn't sever my spinal cord." you explain. "They did surgery to reconstruct the crushed vertebrae and now I have steel rods running down my spine to keep everything in place. I have a steel plate at the base of my skull, here..." you say and turn to lift your hair, showing them the scar peeking out from your hair line and disappears under your shirt's collar, " that the rods attach to, and I have a couple steel plates holding my pelvis together that the bottom of the rods attach to as well." you say, turning back around.

"Wow!" The two boys say. Donnie smirks, "So are you magnetic? Like will magnets stick to you now?" Donnie teases.

Gary grabs a pillow off the couch and hits him with it. "Donnie! What kind of a question is that?" he scolds. 

You laugh. "It's one a mischievous teenage boy asks, trying to decide if it is worth a prank to find out!" you grin and reply.

Gary looks at you and sees you're not offended by his son's question.

You laugh. "My brothers would do the same kind of things. So I know that look, boys." you chuckle. "And no, magnets won't stick to me, though I do trigger off metal detectors like Wolverine does in the X-Men movies!" you giggle.

They look at each other then at you, "COOL!!!!!!" They both say with HUGE grins!

Gary just laughs and stands to go get more pizza. "Anyone want more pizza or should I put it in the fridge?"

You stand and grab your plate. I'll take a couple more, if that's ok." you ask.

He nods and you walk over to the counter. He puts a couple more pieces on your plate. You smile, thank him and turn to go back to the couch. When you turn, you see the two boys looking at the painting again, reminiscing about the kayak trip. You pause, lean against the counter and smile. 

"You didn't have to do that. Giving us your favourite painting." you hear Gary say as he stands behind you looking at them. You turn to look at him. "I know. But I wanted to. I got to enjoy the painting for long enough. I held onto it because I hadn't found the proper owner for it. When I heard what you said about what your boys and you had been through, saw you liked the painting and found it relaxing, I realized it was time someone who needed it's peace had it. I have others I can look at and can paint others, if I want." you say as you turn to look at the two boys who were still studying the painting and reminiscing on the trip. 

"Thank You, y/n." he says quietly with his velvety chocolate voice. You smile and turn your gaze to Gary. "My pleasure, Gary." you say as you look up into his Indigo eyes and see them looking at you with gratefulness, and longing. "I hope you all enjoy it." you say quietly.

"Oh, we will, Y/n, we will. And we will think of you whenever we look at it." he replies with a mischievous smirk. You look back at him with a raised eyebrow. He just smirks and tilts his head slightly, looking at you. 

You blush and turn and head back to the couch with your pizza when Trey calls you over. They ask you about painting and ask if you're an artist and what you do for a living. You explain that you get disability because of your injuries and because of the PTSD from the Tornadoes. You tell them about your studio and why you paint. They ask if they can come see your studio sometime. You chuckle and nod. "I am usually home. You are welcome to come visit any time. If I am not home, it's usually because I'm either out shopping for stuff I need, or because I'm visiting with my Psyc person. She is helping me get a Service Dog to help with my anxiety and PTSD." you explain.

Both boys get excited when they hear you're getting a dog. Gary chuckles at how quickly his boys have accepted you. He stands at the kitchen counter listening to the three of you talk and smiles. He is still blown away by your kindness and generosity. He shakes his head in amazement. You have been through SO much hardship, pain and suffering, yet you see others hurting and do what you can to help them to smile and laugh.

He grabs some more pizza and goes to join the three of you. Donnie is sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, Trey and you are sitting on the sofa.

The boys are asking what kind of dog you're getting and you explain that he's a Belgain Melanoix-huskie mix. "He supposedly looks like a big, grey wolf." you tell them. "He is being trained right now." his handler says he is very sensitive to picking up on emotions of those in it's 'pack' and is protective of it's packmembers." you tell them. He is being trained for both a body guard as well as for helping me with my PTSD and Anxiety, so the training is taking longer than it normally would." you explain. 

"What's the dog's name?' Gary asks as he sits down next to you and reclines on the sofa as he munches on his pizza. You're leaning forward with your elbows on your knees as you excitedly talked with the boys. Gary looks at you and notices the scar peeking out from the bottom of your shirt. He figures it must be from the surgery you mentioned having. His fingers itch to trace it all the way up your back, but he refrains from doing so.

You turn to look at Gary when he asks you the question and he quickly flicks his gaze from your low back to your face. "I believe they said his name was Zeus." you told Gary.

He grinned. "That's a good name for a guard dog." he teased.

You just grinned. 

Trey looked at your scars on your arm again. "Y/n?" he asked. "Yeah Trey?" you reply.

"How did you get through it? Losing your whole family, these injuries, the scars, the nightmares, the anxiety?" he asks. 

You look down at your arm and your leg. You run your finger on the scars on your legs that they didn't notice till now. "It took me a very long time, Trey. I had a lot of good doctors and nurses who took very good care of me, encouraged me, fought for me, and pushed me to get better. They became my support network, they were my cheerleaders." you reply with a far away look.

"When I was finally allowed to be conscious and clear headed, the weight of my family's deaths hit me hard. My doctor referred me to see a Psych person and she was amazing. She let me talk and pour my heart out to her, she listened, and helped me work through my feelings, guilt and fears. When I moved here, she referred me to a friend of hers that works here. Allison and I hit it off right away, and now we meet at least once a week to talk and help me get settled here." you explain. 

"You're very lucky to have your Dad and brother. The three of you can help each other out, like a tripod. You can lean on each other and encourage each other, and I know your Dad seems to love you both a whole lot." you tell them. "I didn't have that when I recovered. I wish I did." you say quietly.

"Did your family live in the same town that you did?" Donny asks.

You shook your head. "No. My brothers served in the military. One was killed by an IED in Afghanistan during the Gulf Wars, the other one died in a helicopter crash on the base he was stationed at a few years ago. A training accident, they called it. My sister worked in a restaurant in a neighboring town that got hit by one of the tornadoes. They had hid in the walk-in fridge at the restaurant, but the tornado dropped an airplane onto the building and it flattened the restaurant, and the fridge. No one survived it. My parents were killed in the same tornado that destroyed my apartment. They had been out shopping and the mall cuz I had asked them to pick up some things for me on their way into town. They lived in the same town as my sister. The mall they were in was ripped apart. They got hit by debris and died." you said sadly and looked down at your feet and sniffled a bit.

"I'm sorry, y/n. I didn't mean to make you sad." Trey said as he put a hand gingerly on your shoulder. 

"It's ok, Trey. It doesn't hurt as much to talk about them as it used to. I miss them terribly. You and Donny remind me a lot of my two brothers." you tell them.

They look at each other and grin.

"What do you guys like to do for fun?" you ask. "My brothers liked to do the role play/ D&D thing, play Halo and Warcraft, and other video games. I would sit and watch them and laugh myself silly while I painted their gaming miniatures." you chuckled. They both hop up and run for the TV and Gaming systems.

You heard Gary groan, "Oh, now you've gone and done it! I won't get them off of it for the rest of the night!" he chuckles as he sits up. He puts his empty plate on the table and looks at you. 

You chuckle and apologize.

"How do you do it?" he asks.

You look at him confused. "Do what?" you ask.

"Be so happy despite all you've been through, despite all the losses and heartache?" he replies.

You shrug and think about his question.

"I don't honestly know. I guess I just look at it like I have two options: 1) I can be angry, bitter and blame the world for all my losses and heartache and inadvertently hurt everyone around me, or 2) I can accept the hurt and losses as part of my story, something I can't change, and be grateful I had the time I did with those I lost." you reply thoughtfully.

"I can be grateful for still being here, being able to walk, being able to be (for the most part) independent. I guess my doctors and nurses drove the concept of being grateful and thinking positive into my head so much that I just naturally think that way now. 'Be Grateful for the Blessings no matter how big or small they are.'" you reply. Gary nods, thinking about your response.

You continue, "When I asked my therapist, 'Why did this happen to me?' she told me that no one can answer that question. But, she also told me that we grow the most as people when we are forced to go through disasters and tough times. It teaches us things about ourselves that we normally would not learn." you explained. "Just like children, we sometimes have to have growing pains to signal a significant growth and maturing."

Gary looked at you and nodded. "Yeah, I guess she was right with that. Those tornadoes brought my boys and I closer. We were on a really rough patch after their mother died. It felt like I was losing them too, but had no idea how to reach out to them. They were constantly arguing with me and pushing me away, and I suppose I was doing the same unintentionally. We were all lost in our own little worlds of hurt, that we didn't see we all were hurting. It took the fear of losing each other during the tornado to make all of us realize what was truly most important... love and family." he said quietly as you both watched the two boys start up the gaming system and untangle the controllers. 

"Dad, you gonna play?" Donnie asked.

"No, not yet, you two goofballs go ahead and play on it." Gary told them with a laugh.

You smiled. You liked how Gary's laugh seemed to rumble in his chest. It reminded you of a far off thunderstorm, a sound you found very comforting. You wondered what it felt like to be held in his arms and kissed by him. You were brought out of your musing by Trey.

"You wanna play, y/n?" Trey asked.

"Hmmm?" you asked.

He held up the controller, "You wanna play?" he asked again.

You laughed, "Thanks, Trey, but I'll pass. I was never any good with those video games. My brothers always said I didn't have the coordination to play them. I will happily watch though!" you giggled.

Trey shrugged and turned back to the TV. 

You sat back on the couch with Gary and watched them play for a while, and you talked with the three of them.

You and Gary would both laugh when one of the boys would 'accidentally' shoot the other or flub up on the game and have to start over. You missed being around people like this. You missed having your brothers and a family to spend time with. You looked at Gary and his boys and smiled. They had been through a lot too. You were glad they had each other though.

After a while, you stood and stretched. "I should get going boys, it's getting late for me. You said as you grabbed your phone, keys and thermos." 

They look up. "Already?" they asked.

You nodded and smiled. "Besides it's not like you don't know where I live. I'm sure we'll see each other soon." you chuckled.

They grinned, paused the game and waved goodbye, "Thanks for the gift and the cookies!" They both said grinning like Cheshire cats.

You laugh. "Don't eat all the cookies in one go, though. Save some for your Dad!" you say with a wink at Gary. 

He grinned and you could see his ears get a little pink as well as his cheeks.

He stands and walks with you to the door. "Thanks for the painting and your company tonight, y/n." he says quietly as he stands next to you in the hallway by the door.

You smile and reply, "Thanks for letting me stay and meet your boys, and join you for supper. They're great boys, Gary. You've done a great job raising them. They are incredibly lucky to have you for their Pa." you compliment him. 

He grins and reaches up to nervously rub his neck. "Would you... like to join us again? We're going to the arcade tomorrow afternoon. Trey wants to try to beat me at mini-golf. And Donnie thinks he'll smash me in Go Carts." he asks with a devilish grin. "And they both will want to show off their arcade game skills." he giggles.

You chuckle. "I haven't ever been to an arcade. We didn't have anything like that back home. It sounds like fun!" you say, giving Gary a huge smile. "What time are you going?" You ask.

"One thirty." Gary replies. "We can stop over and pick you up, that way we won't have to take two vehicles. If you're ok with it." he asks. 

"That would be fine, Gary, thanks again for a fun evening." you tell him as he looks down at you and gives you a breath taking smile that just about melts your panties. It was one of those smiles that lights up his eyes and makes them twinkle.

"I had fun too. I look forward to tomorrow." he says and grins. 

He takes your hand and looks down at it. "I'm glad you dropped your mail on the floor this afternoon, and that I heard your cussing." he grins,"It has been a pleasure to meet you and get to know you. I hope you stop by and visit us often. My boys seem to like you too, don't be surprised if they show up at your door in the next few days." he teases.

You grin. "You all are always welcome at my place." you reply with a grin. "Good night, Gary, see you all tomorrow." you say and give him a quick peck on the cheek as he opens the door for you. His eyes open wide in surprise and he grins and watches you leave. You wave and he waves back as you walk down the hallway to your door. Just as you round the corner, you hear his door click closed.

You stop and giggle quietly when you hear his two boys come up to him at the door and tease him and ask if you gave him a kiss. You can't hear his reply but you hear the boys cheer. You guess he told them you agreed to come with them to the arcade. You hear them teasing him, something about going on a date. You chuckle and head down the rest of the hallway to your apartment with a big grin on your face.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day you are sitting on the floor of your apartment in a tank top and jean shorts, trying to put a large bookcase together when you get a phone call from your counselor, Allison. She tells you that your dog will be available to be picked up tomorrow and that you will need to go through a day of training with him so he can get used to you. You struggle to stand and then do a little happy dance and squeal, making Allison laugh.

You suddenly remember how excited Gary's boys seemed to be about you getting the dog. "Could I bring some friends with?" you ask.

Allison pauses for a moment, "Since when did you get friends?" she teases. "Hey!" you reply and the two of you laugh again. 

You excitedly tell her about how you met Gary and his boys. She tells you she is happy you're making friends so quickly and tells you that you can bring them with. She gives you the name of the place to go to for the training and the time you need to be there for. You thank her and hang up.

You can't wait to tell Gary and the boys. You look at the clock and see it is almost noon. You decide to pause with the bookcase and get changed and have some lunch. It's hot outside today and sunny, so you put on a pale blue knee length sundress and a pair of light grey biker shorts.

Right at 1:30pm you hear your doorbell ring. You go to answer it and it's Gary and his boys. You invite them in for a minute while you get your shoes on and grab your purse. Trey and Donnie follow you through the kitchen and look around. You sit down at the table and untie your new tennis shoes, then plop them on the floor and slip them on. 

"You're right, Dad, it's almost a mirror image of our place... woah.... what are you doing in there, Y/n?" Trey says, pointing to your bookcase mess in the living room. Gary walks over to the end of the kitchen and peers around the corner to see what Trey is talking about. 

You chuckle. "I was trying to put a bookcase together, but I don't have the strength in my hand yet to use the screwdriver effectively, my hand gets too tired too fast. I can get about three screws in and then my hand needs a break... And the drill is not recommended for putting it together. It's too heavy for me to handle anyway, and too big to get at some of the screws." you tell them.

"We'll help you with that when we get done at the arcade if you want!" Donnie offers. "I've put lots of those together!" he says proudly. You smile and thank him.

Gary rolls his eyes and chuckles. He looks down at you trying to tie your shoe and sees you're struggling. "Having some trouble with that?" he asks quietly as the two boys go to check out the bookcase. 

You look up and nod. "Still haven't been able to touch my toes yet with these stupid rods in my back. They only bend so far then it's like, 'NOPE... that's as far as you go'... UGH! It's _so_ frustrating not being able to tie or buckle my shoes!" Normally I just tie them loose so I can slip into them, but these are new and I don't want to ruin the heels like I did with my last pair." you explain as Gary kneels and ties your shoes for you, making you blush and thank him. He looks up at you in your pretty blue sundress and smiles warmly, grinning when he sees you blushing.

"I bet that is frustrating. I guess I never thought about how such everyday things like tying one's shoes become complicated activities with injuries like you had." Gary said as he stood and scratched his chin. "Are there other things that you struggle with?" he asks, "If you don't mind me asking." he adds quickly.

You shrug and stand. "Most of it is just limitations because I'm too short, or because I've lost most of my strength on my right side. We focused primarily on regaining strength in my legs at the hospital, so I could stand and walk again. Now, my PT doctor is having me work on regaining strength in my right hand and arm." you explain. "I'm right hand dominant so it's just frustrating for me sometimes." you explain. "I still don't have all the feeling in my fingers yet. He said it takes time for the nerves to regrow and reroute around all the damaged tissue. I go twice a week for massages so that the scar tissue that formed stays soft and keeps my range of motion good." You explain.

Gary nods. "Come on boys, lets get going!" he calls out to them. You chuckle and turn to head for the door. They come walking back over to Gary and the boys notice the scar more clearly visible now running down your back. They look at each other and swallow hard. Gary nudges them and you all head out.

You chuckle as Gary walks with you out to the street, his hand on your low back. He opens the dark blue SUV's front door for you. "Thank you." you tell him as he helps you in, grazing his fingers over your bare skin on your back and arm causing you to shiver in the heat of the day. He grins and closes the door and walks around to the driver's side. Donnie and Trey giggle. You turn and look at them with a raised eyebrow. "He likes you... a lot.." they get out before Gary opens the door to get in. He glances up at you and you just give him a grin.

"So tell me about this arcade place, boys." you say as Gary starts the vehicle and pulls out into traffic. They spend most of the trip there telling you how awesome the arcade place is. "There's all kinds of games, and fooseball, basketball, go-karts, minigolf, and greasy food." The two boys rant.

You look over at Gary, who is wearing his aviator sunglasses. You can see through the side of them that his eyes are twinkling with excitement, because the laugh lines at the side of his eye have deepened. He has just a slight curl at the corners of his lips. 

You decide not to tell the boys you were on the state championship girl's basketball team and were a crackshot. You also decide not to tell them about your stint on the girl's golf team in high School. You can't wait to see the looks on their faces and wonder if you'll be able to do the tricks you used to do. You just smile. "I've never been to an arcade, so I am looking forward to seeing all this. What's your favourite games to play?" you ask. 

They tell you about their favourite games and explain the point of the game. You listen attentively and engage with the boys as if you were their best friend. Gary glances at you sitting there next to him, slightly turned in your seat so you could talk with the boys. His heart is happy seeing you interact with his kids as if they were your own. He chuckles when they ask if you've ever been mini-golfing. You tell them, no, and they ask how is it you've never been mini-golfing and never been to an arcade. 

You tell them that there weren't those things in the community you grew up in, but you did have lots of regular golf courses. 

"What did you do for fun when you were growing up?" Trey asks.

You think for a minute. 

"Well, we played outside a lot. Cowboys and Indians, Robin Hood and his gang of outlaws, Peter Pan versus Captain Hook and his pirates, we had a sandbox and played house, and we rode bikes and played at the parks. We went swimming in the pool a lot and played different sports. My brothers played basketball, football and hockey, and baseball so I helped them practice and learned to play against them on the court and in the fields near our home. 

"Cool!" The boys said. "You said you had a sister, right?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah. She was my little sister." You replied. 

"Did she do all that stuff with you and your brothers?" He asked.

"Most of it. I was the Tomboy, she was more of the girly girl. She liked her dresses, and playing with makeup and hair, and baking and sewing. But she loved playing outside with us. Especially if we played house or Robin Hood." you said with a grin, remembering how she would dress you all up. 

"She would make us costumes to wear and sometimes my parents and the neighbor kids and their parents would join us when everyone got home from work. Our dad always played the evil sheriff of Nottingham or Captain Hook, and his best friend from a few houses down would be the deputy sheriff or Mr. Smee, depending on what we were playing." You giggled. 

Gary glances over at you and raises an eyebrow. "And what did you play?" he asked with his baritone voice and a smirk. 

You could feel your face get warm and pink. "I played Maid Marian, when we were playing Robin Hood. If we played Peter Pan, then I was either Tiger Lilly or Wendy, and if we played cops and robbers, I was a robber (usually my brothers deemed me as 'calamity Jane, or Bonnie' and my other brother would play Clyde' or wild Bill Hitchcock." you explained. 

"I wish we had a sister, growing up, but mom died a few years ago and never had any more kids after Trey; so I don't think we'll get that little sister we wanted." he comments. "It sounds like you had a fun childhood though." Donnie says. 

You nod. "Yeah. We had a lot of happy memories. What are some of your favourite memories of growing up?" You ask the three of them. 

Donnie tells you about the trip they took as a family to Colorado and tells you all about the camping and the kayaking and canoeing. He tells you about going skiing with Gary there in the winter and how he broke his leg the first time he went down the main hill. Gary nods. "Yeah, they had to put you on a sled and pull you back up to the chalet with a snowmobile and you ended up in a cast for the next 6 weeks!" Trey laughs, "Yeah, I spent the whole vacation getting pampered in the Chalet by the female staff while the rest of the family was out skiing! It was great!" 

You bust up laughing. Gary just grins at the sound of your giggling.

Trey tells you about their mom and how she would give them first aid lessons instead of reading them bedtime stories, and how she always made sure they had one sugary snack in their lunch every day and would leave them little encouraging notes in their lunch boxes and how much they got teased for the notes, but how much they now mean to them now that she is gone. 

"Did you keep all the notes?" you ask.

"I did." Donnie said. "Trey has most of them, at first he threw them away because he got teased, but then he started keeping them and just hid them in the pocket of his lunch box so the other kids wouldn't find them." Donnie explains. 

"You boys are lucky to have those things. I lost everything in the tornado. The only things that survived were my waterfall painting my sister did and the river scene her friend did. Nothing was salvageable of the stuff my parents and brothers had given me. All my photographs and baby pictures were scattered to the four winds. My paintings were found miracously undamaged 50 miles apart and 30 miles from my apartment! My name was on the back of them and someone was able to track me down to return them at the hospital, that was the only reason I had gotten them back." you explain. 

They were quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry you lost all of your stuff, Y/n." Trey says quietly. "I was out with Dad looking for Donnie when the tornadoes hit Silverton. I was so surprised to see how easily they would tear through stone buildings and pick up vehicles, even semis and airplanes, and toss them around like matchbox cars. It was really scary. Stuff was thrown all over town when we got back to our home. Ours was one of the few that for some reason was barely damaged." he explains.

"I've heard that tornadoes can flatten homes on one side of a street and rip out all the trees and leave the other side of the street completely unscathed, I never understood how though." you replied. 

They all shrugged.

"Well, We're here." Gary says as he pulls up into the parking lot. 

The boys cheer and are scrambling to get out of the vehicle once Gary parks it. You chuckle and unbuckle. Trey opens the door for you and you hop out.

You realize you are only a little taller than Trey and Donnie is a smidge taller than you. You start to giggle and they both look at you with a puzzled look on their faces. 

"I just realized how short I am compared to you two." you tell them. "I feel like a kid again." you giggle. They look at each other grin, and Donnie drapes an arm over your shoulder trying to measure your height with his, while Trey puts his around your waist and tries to stand so he's taller than you. 

Gary comes around the front of the truck when you say that and chuckles since the three of you are standing in a row and it's like a step ladder going up. Trey is the shortest, then you, then Donnie. 

"Yup, one of them is taller than you and the other is shorter than you, but not by much." he replies." In no time they both will be towering over you." he says with a chuckle.

The two boys groan and let you go then they head inside and Gary chuckles and offers you his arm. "By the way, you look lovely today in that dress." he says quietly.

You grin and loop your arm throug his. "Thanks Gary. You're looking pretty snazzy too! I like your sunglasses." you giggle grabbing them off his face, making him squint at the bright sunlight. You put them on and look around. He grins and the two of you walk into the arcade. 

It's loud and there's flashing lights and a few families with young kids running all over. You tilt Gary's sunglasses up onto the top of your head as you enter. The two of you look around for the boys and spot them by the ticket counters. Gary goes to buy prepaid cards for everyone and comes back with one for you. You look up at him surprised. He grins and says, "What? You didn't expect to go to an arcade and not play any of the games, now did you?"

You roll your eyes and take the card.

Donnie and Trey are already at the basketball game and are tossing the balls into the basket and are only making about half of the shots.Then they challenge Gary to play. He obliges and they are giving him a bad time cuz he's a lousy shot. You're laughing at their comments and bantering back and forth. "What's so funny?" Donnie asks and says, "You think you could do better?" You smirk and give him a raised eyebrow.

When Gary's turn ends, you're ushered up to it and Trey takes your card and shows you how to swipe it to pay to play the game. You start shooting the baskets and make nearly all of them. The game spits out a loooooooonnnnnngggg line of tickets and you look at Trey confused. He is staring at you slack jawed. "How'd you do that?!?!?!" he asks as he gathers the tickets for you. "Beginner's luck!" Gary teases goodnaturedly with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. You grin and swipe the card again. 

You start shooting baskets and make every single one including the trick shot you attempted. All three of your companions' jaws drop. You just smirk as a second looooonnngggg line of tickets shoots out of the machine, you gather your tickets and go to find another game to play. They stand there for a minute in shock and then snap out of it and follow you, asking you all kinds of questions about how you learned to shoot baskets like that. All you'd say is, "Brothers... I had brothers, remember?" Which caused Trey and Donnie to groan and Gary to get an impish look on his face.

Next the boys showed you how to play the fooseball game. This was one that Gary liked to play and seemed pretty good at it. The two of you had fun playing side by side and you'd laugh when his ball would skip over the side and land in one of the holes on your game every once in a while. You liked the game and got pretty good at it, earning you a long line of tickets. "What am I supposed to do with all these tickets, Gary?" you asked. 

He chuckled and led you over to the ticket counter machine and showed you how to feed the machine the tickets, which it counted and then printed out a little piece of paper telling you how many tickets you won. Then he took you to the prize counter and explained how the tickets and prizes worked. You looked at the prizes and found one you'd have fun using. You nodded, folded the slip of paper and put it in your pocket. You needed 1500 more tickets then you could get it.

The two of you looked around at the games and found other ones to play. Whack a Mole, Pinball, various shooting games, along with Packman, and your favourite, Tetris. Donnie watched you play Tetris and just laughed at how good you were on it. "That was the ONLY video game I could beat my brothers in." you explained. He nodded, smiling.

You and Gary had fun playing "Space invaders" which you were both really good at and accrued quite a few strips of tickets. Sometimes you'd watch the guys play, other times they'd watch you play. Sometimes you'd play against them in a competition and laugh yourself silly at their bantering.

Gary had fun watching you interacting with the boys and he still couldn't figure out how you were so good at the basketball game. Of course he challenged you to a rematch and you giggled when Trey and Donnie started playing defense and tried to block yours and Gary's shots. You still ended up nailing the majority of your shots and whooped Gary's ass in the game, making him laugh and pat your back. "Good game!" he said. You startled at his touch on your bare back but just giggled and said the same to him. "I'll have to teach you to shoot properly one of these days though. You have terrible form." you teased. He just raised his eyebrow and gave you a lopsided grin.

Danny and Trey looked at the two of you and then at each other, giggling, seeing their dad giving you a lovesick puppy face and you not noticing it as you looked around at all the games you hadn't tried yet. 

"Dad, can we get some food and then do Mini-Golf?" Trey asked.

"Sure, what do you all want to eat?" he asked. 

You all headed to the concession stand and ordered hot dogs, nachos, cheesy pretzel bites and sodapop. After stuffing yourselves, Gary went and paid for you all to play mini-golf. 

The four of you head outside and you chuckle as Gary plucks his sunglasses off of your head and puts them back on. "It's too bright out here, I need these back sweetheart." he tells you. You giggle and let him take them. "How do you manage without sunglasses?" he asks. You just shrug. "I guess I'm just used to squinting." you reply. 

They explained the game to you and you grinned wickedly. "Oh!!! So it's a putting game!" you exclaim.

"A what?" Donnie asks. 

"A game where you're putting around obstacles. Putting is what it is called in Golf when the ball gets onto the green near the hole and you have to putt long or short shots to get it into the hole in as few putts as possible." you explain. 

Donnie nods.

You just smirk, "Ok. Who's first so I can see how this is supposed to be done?" You ask. Gary and Donnie look at Trey. He shrugs and goes to putt first. Then Donnie and then Gary. You go last. You decide to take it easy on them and get your shot in three or four putts for the first few holes, to give them a false sense of security. "So do these get harder as you go further into the game?" you ask. Gary nods then takes his putt. 

You watched the three of them take their shots and observed their methods. You looked at the way this hole was lined up and figured out the best route for your shot. You aimed and swung and your ball rolled right into the cup in one shot. The three of them just looked at you and shook their heads. "Beginner's luck?" you feigned innocence. Gary just looked at you with a raised eyebrow. You giggled and waited for them to finish their shots.

You began to get a feeling for the game and quickly started to do well with the putting. Grinning that your bum hand hadn't given you much of a handicap like you had thought it would. Now if you were playing regular golf, you're sure it would be a much different outcome. You were glad that you had regained enough feeling in your hands that you could control your swing and the club fairly well. 

Halfway through the game Gary comes up behind you, puts a hand on your hip, startling you, then he leans down as you are watching Trey putt. "Either you've played mini-golf before or you've played regular golf on a regular basis before coming here. No novice player makes some of these shots in just one or two putts." he whispers in your ear with a sultry, velvety baritone voice.

You glance over at him and bite your lip and feel your face get warm and pink. You look up at him and he raises his sunglasses and gives you a knowing look and then raises his eyebrow. You just cover your smirk by sucking both your top lip and bottom lips into your mouth to try to prevent yourself from grinning and giving it away. You know that he has figured out your trick though, but the question is, will he betray you to Donnie and Trey? He just grins and gives your side a pat as he stands next to you.

The four of you finish the game with you beating Trey by two strokes. They tease you a bit, but you take it in stride. "You're welcome to a rematch next time, Trey." you tell him. Gary chuckles and winks at you.

Trey's face lights up and he says, "Oh, I plan to!" Making you all laugh.

Donnie wants to go on the Go-karts next and Trey does too. Gary looks over at you and you shake your head, No. He nods and goes to pay for the two boys to ride on them. He comes back and hands them the tickets. "Aren't you coming, Dad?" They ask. You move over into the shade and lean against the railing of the go-kart track fanning yourself with a paper tent from off one of the tables. 

Gary shakes his head and chuckles. "You go ahead, I'll ride on them later with you." he tells them. They grin and head over to the line.

You chuckle and look at Gary. "You could've gone on it with them. I know you said they want to try to beat you at the ride." you tell him. He just grins. "It's warm out you doing all right?" he asks. You sigh. "I could use something cool to drink." you tell him. He nods and says, "I'll be right back." 

You watch him as he goes inside and comes out a minute later with two bottles of water. He hands one to you and watches as you take a swig of your water. You hold the cool water bottle against the back of your neck and close your eyes. You can feel the sweat dripping down your forehead. 

"So why didn't you go on the Go-karts with the boys?" you ask Gary as you hear the engines of the Go-karts start. He chuckles and waves as Trey and Donnie go racing by. You open your eyes and look when they holler out to you. You chuckle and wave. 

Gary grins and when you look over at him he smiles and says, "I wanted to hear how you got so good at putting and shooting baskets." he tells you and gives you a mischievous smirk as he casually leans on the railing and looks at you with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. He opens his bottle of water and takes a couple swigs of it.

"BUSTED!" you sigh, making him laugh. "I played golf in high school. I was on the team that went to state championship and we won." you confessed. "I spent a lot of time practicing my putts and figuring out the angles and incline so I could do them in one or two shots." you explained.

He grinned. "I figured it had to be something like that." he said. "I suppose it was the same with basketball?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. You grinned and nodded. "I was on our high school state championship team and was labeled the queen of the trick shot and 3-pointers" you confessed, "...but don't tell the boys about that!" you tell him. He just gives you a wicked grin.

The two of you lean on the railing, sipping the water from your bottles and watch the two boys slamming into each other on the track and banter and laugh at each other's antics. Gary sets his sunglasses on the top of his head since the two of you are in the shade.

You shake your head at his two boys and chuckle. "They are SO much like my brothers. I wish mine were here so they could meet your boys. They would've gotten along with them so well!" you tell Gary as the boys make another pass around the track.

He grins and rubs your back gently. You startle a bit at his touch but he just chuckles. "You doing ok, Y/N?" you look up at him and nod. "Yeah, sorry, I haven't spent time like this with people for almost a year. I'm not used to physical contact with anyone other than my PT, Doctors or Nurses, so that's why I startle. It was either doctors and nurses pushing me to do my exercises and walking, or I was alone in my room or my apartment after I got out of the hospital. I miss having family to hang out with and do stuff like this. I didn't realize it until last night when we were watching the boys play videogames. It just kind of hit me."

"Was that why you left?" Gary asked as he turned to face you, looking concerned.

You nodded. "You have a wonderful little family, Gary. I hope you know how lucky you are to have them." you tell him as the two boys holler at the two of you as they drive past. You wave and they wave back, crashing into the wall and each other. You and Gary laugh and giggle at the two clowns. "Remind me not to be in the car when they are driving." you tease. Gary laughs a deep belly laugh, his eyes twinkling. 

"You are welcome to join us and hang out whenever you want, Y/n. We enjoy your company. The boys really miss their mom and it's nice for them to have you around to talk to and interact with. I hope you don't mind." Gary tells you.

"I don't mind, Gary. They are both great kids. You should be very proud of them. I'm sure their mother would've been." you reply.

Gary smiles at you and you see happiness and joy in his eyes, but you also see something else. You're not sure what it is though. He just nods and turns when the two boys come trotting back up to the two of you and are giggling and snickering about something. "What's so funny, boys?" Gary asks.

"Nuuuthhinn..." they reply and snicker again. You just smile and shake your head. Gary rolls his eyes and grabs Donnie and gives him a knuckle rub on his head. Donnie tries to escape but Gary has him in a head lock. Donnie is laughing and trying to tickle his dad. Gary laughs and lets him go. You're grinning and laughing as you watch them.

"Come on, Dad, you promised to race me on the Go-karts!" Donnie says.

Gary looks over at you and you motion for him to go. "Shoo! Go race your son." you tell him. "I'll stay here and watch." He tosses you his waterbottle, gives Trey his sunglasses, keys and wallet, and nods. 

Donnie grins and pulls Gary into line. "Come on Old Man, I'm gonna whoop you on the track!" Gary just laughs and give Donnie a friendly punch on the shoulder. "You talk big, son, but let's see you put your money where your mouth is on the track!" he replies with a big grin.

Trey and you stand along the railing and watch them standing in line, bantering and laughing.

"You having fun, Miss, Y/n?" he asks. You chuckle. "You can just call me Y/n." you tell him. "And yes, I've been having a lot of fun. Have you?" You ask him.

He nods. "Yeah. I haven't seen Dad smile and laugh as much as he has today in a long time. Not since before Mom died." he tells you. "He was _really_ looking forward to today." Trey says with a grin. "I think it was cuz you said you'd come with us. He talked about you all night last night when you left. He still can't believe you went and had the painting framed and that you gave it to us." Trey says.

You chuckle. "I'm glad I made a good first impression." you say. "Your dad said you all were having a hard time adjusting to life after your Mom died, and that he felt like he was losing you two." you say.

Trey gets quiet and looks at you. "He said that?" he asks. You nod. "Yeah. He said you all were trying to deal with the grief, but were pushing each other away unintentionally because of the pain instead of leaning on each other. He said it wasn't till the tornadoes hit and you all got scared of losing each other that you finally started to heal and reconnect." you say. Trey nods. "Yeah, I guess he is right on that. Mom's death left me and Donnie feeling like we had a huge hole in our hearts. We were mad that she died and I guess we unfairly took it out on Dad." he says quietly.

"You should have seen him though, during the Tornadoes, Y/n! He was so brave and fought to find Donnie. He was _so_ worried about him! We got to ride with the storm chasers after he rescued their weather lady from being sucked away by a tornado. I rode in their tank of a vehicle and got to record footage of the tornadoes with them! Their tank had a rotating bubble on the top that you could see out of. It was _so cool!!!_

Anyway the weather lady working with them helped us find Donny. I felt bad for her though, the head storm chaser guy, her boss, died trying to keep us safe. We had to hide in a storm drain and the wind was pulling off the grate at the end of the drain. A Semi had been tossed to the other end and was blocking the other entrance, so he climbed out of the man-hole and drove his tank vehicle in front of the culvert's grate right before the weather lady was almost sucked from the culvert. He saved her life, but the tornado broke the tank off from the winch that we had used to hook a line between the semi and the other side of the grate to keep it in place. They found the tank upside down and it was almost 5 miles from where he got sucked into the tornado. The guy inside was dead." Trey said sadly. 

You reached over to him and rubbed his shoulder. "I bet that all was really scary to witness." you say. Trey nods. "I sometimes still wake up dreaming about it." he confesses. "It's ok, Trey, I still wake up some nights in a sweat when it's windy outside. One of my windows leaks air a little and mimics that howling sound the tornadoes make." you tell him. He looks at you wide-eyed. "Really? Donnie and I aren't the only ones that have that?" he asks. You shake your head. "I bet your Dad has some nightmares about it too, and he just doesn't lead on about it.

It's ok though. It's just our brain's way of trying to cope with what we've witnessed and lived through. Don't dwell on it. Try to remember the good things that came out of the tornadoes instead of the scary things. OK?" you tell him. He nods. "Like us moving here and Dad meeting you?" he asks. You blush and nod. "I suppose that is one thing. What about the lady your dad saved. How come he isn't with her?" you ask. 

"When it was all done, and safe to travel again, the weather lady dad had saved left and went to her home in another state to be with her parents and daughter. Dad talks with her once in a while just to see how she and her daughter are doing. Sometimes she will call and check up on us, but it's nothing more than friendship with them." He says as the two of you watch the people on the Go-kart track, and Trey laughs when Gary smashes into Donnie and then takes off on the track, leaving Donnie in the dust. You giggle. 

"Trey, when you asked me how I managed coping with all I've had to deal with, what I said about having a support group, it's true. We all need people to rely on when we are going through tough times, when we are sad, or confused, or angry. It helps a lot if you have someone you can feel comfortable talking to. I know you guys haven't had a Mom for a while. I don't know if you both were close to her or not, but if you want a woman to talk with, I will be willing to listen and help if I can. If you want a man to talk to that isn't your dad, I would highly encourage you both to come and talk with the guys where I go for counseling. They are hilarious and fun guys, they see things in ways I hadn't thought about before. You and Donnie and even your Dad, if he was willing, would really like them." 

Trey thinks for a minute. Then nods. "I will think about it and ask Donnie if he wants to try it. Oh, by the way, Dad hung your painting up in the living room so we can all see it when we sit on the couch." he tells you. We talked about the camping trip to Colorado and are thinking about doing another one maybe next summer. You should come with us! It would be SO much fun!" he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

"I wish I could, Trey, but I can't sleep on the ground any more. Not with my back and pelvic injuries. I have a hard time even reaching my shoes to get them tied or buckled. Trying to get me off the ground or off of an air mattress would be not much fun, for you guys and probably quite painful for me." you tell him and chuckle. "You'll have to tell me all about it though, if you guys do go." you say. "Take lots of pictures and videos." Trey looks bummed but nods. 

"Oh, I forgot about your injuries. Y/n, I noticed you walk kind of funny, is that cuz of your pelvis being crushed?" he asked. You nod. "Yeah, it changed the way my body moves and altered my gait. It also affected other things and crushed some of my dreams of having a family. However, I'm just grateful to be alive and able to walk." you say. He nods.

"How come you don't want to go on the go-karts? Is it because of your injuries?" he asks as Gary and Donnie let out a loud laugh as they crash into each other on a turn near you two. You point at them and say, "Yup. Cuz of that. My body is still healing and jarring movements like that would undo months of therapy for me." you explain.

"Ah." he replies.

He is quiet for a while and watched his Dad and Donnie racing. "So are you and Dad gonna start dating?" he asks mischievously. You chuckle. "Would you want us to?" you ask. He grins and nods. "Well I wouldn't be opposed to it if he screwed up the courage to ask." you reply with a mischievous smirk.

"I enjoy being with you all. I miss my family terribly and didn't realize how little interaction I had with people until I met you all yesterday. Normally I only interact with people when I went to the grocery store, the art store, my doctor & PT appointments or my counseling sessions." you explain.

"Don't you have any friends here?" Trey asks surprised. 

You shake your head, "No, not really. I only moved here a month or two before you guys did? Remember?" you remind him. "I'm not much of a social butterfly. I read a lot and do my painting, so I rarely leave the apartment. But maybe that will change now once my dog arrives. I suppose I will be outside more, and going for walks with him." you reply. 

"Oh, yeah! I forgot!" he chuckles. "Well, we like having you around. Dad smiles more when he sees you, like he did when Mom was still alive." he says.

You blush and giggle. "Y/n can I come with when you take your dog for walks? We've always wanted a dog, but Mom always said, 'No!'" Trey asks you. You nod. "Sure, Trey, you can join us for walks, if it's ok with your dad." you tell him.

"Speak of the devil and he appears!" Trey says, "Here comes Dad and Donnie." he says as the two men come up to you two, laughing and teasing each other.

You smile and say, "You two have fun?"

They both nod. "So who won?" you ask. Donnie looks sheepish and mumbles, "Dad did." Trey laughs and hands his Dad back his wallet, keys and sunglasses. You hand him his waterbottle, which he finished off and tosses in the garbage.

You look at Gary and he is totally gloating. You shake your head and smile. "Serves you right. Next time don't talk big until you've won." you tease.

"Ok, now who's up for cooling off inside and a rematch of fooseball?" Gary grins and nods. The boys' faces light up and you all head inside for the fooseball games and the four of you play. Gary wins and you come in second place. Donnie and Trey roll their eyes and tease their dad, "Dad, quit showing off for y/n, we'd like to win some games too ya know!"

Gary just grins mischievously and tells them to go find a game to play then. They grin and head off to go find some games to play. 

Gary follows you over to the ticket counting machine and you start feeding it the pile of tickets you won.

He grins and watches you. "So what were you and Trey talking about while Donnie and I raced?" he asked. 

You grin. "A lot of different stuff." you reply with a smirk.

He raises an eyebrow. "Like?"

You chuckle. "He mentioned you hung up the painting I gave you and that you guys talked about going on another trip like that next summer possibly." you tell Gary. 

He smiles, "Yeah, it's been a while since we had a relaxing trip like that." he replies, leaning against the machine as you add another strip of tickets into the machine. 

You grin. "He asked me if I'd like to come with you guys." you tell Gary with out looking up at him. You see his eyes go wide out of the corner of your eye.

"He did what?" Gary asks, nervously surprised. 

You chuckle, "Don't worry, Gary, I told him it was nice to ask me, but I can't camp like that anymore, as much as I'd love to. But me sleeping on the ground or on an air mattress just isn't going to work anymore. I can't even touch my toes and it is hard for me to get up off the floor when I'm there. I can't imagine how much pain I'd be in if I tried camping and sleeping on the ground like that. I told him that I'd love to hear all about it though when you guys get back." you explain. 

Gary just nods, sadly. 

"So what are you going to get with all those tickets?" he asks. 

You grin. "It's a surprise." you reply. 

"Dang It! I'm still short!" you state when you see the total. Gary chuckles, "My dear, you'll always be short, but here, you can have my tickets. I don't need to get any of the stuff they sell at the counter." he says as he shoves the ticket strips into the machine. 

You grin and thank him. Once you have your papers and double check your math you go over to the counter and tell the man you want the nerf gun set and hand him your slips of paper. He grins and gives you the set. You squeal and do a happy dance, which makes Gary chuckle. "You're almost as bad as the boys are!" he teases. 

"What are you planning on doing with that?" he asks. 

You grin devilishly. "I assume the boys have a set?" you ask. Gary sees where you're going with the train of thought and he grins a huge grin. "Well, yes, in fact they do! Are you thinking of having a nerf war with them?" he asks.

"Maaaayyyybbbbeeeee." you reply, smirking. "But you can't tell them!" you warn. "Well, that will depend on if I get to join in this Nerf War or not?" Gary replies with an evil grin. Your eyes get wide. "YOU have a set too!?!?!" you ask. Gary nods, grinning. 

"Bring IT on then!!!!" you say.

Gary laughs and pulls you in for a hug! "Oh my dear, you don't know what you're getting yourself into!" he tells you still laughing as he pictures how this will end up. 

You laugh and give him a surprised squeak when he pulls you in for an unexpected hug. You stand there stunned for a minute, then relax and let him hug you as he laughs at the thought of having a nerf war with you and his boys.

Suddenly you hear giggling and look over to see Donnie and Trey watching you. You poke Gary. "Um. Gary, it appears we have an audience. You whisper." he looks up and nervously lets you go. Clearing his throat. You chuckle and point the nerf gun set at the boys. 

"I hereby challenge you guys to a nerf war on Saturday afternoon!" you tell them. You laugh when Trey and Donnie look at each other shocked then break out into a HUGE grin. "REALLY?!?!?!?!" they ask as they come over to you both. "Dad, does she know how competitive you are with this game?" Gary just shakes his head and smirks. 

You raise an eyebrow and give him the stink eye. "Don't forget, Gentlemen, that I played this game with two brothers who were in the military! We also did paint ball too. And I was always one of the last ones standing!!!" you informed them. The boys cheer and get all excited. You look over at Gary and he is looking at you with a fire and an excited gleam in his eyes. You give him a wink and he blushes and looks away as he rubs his neck and chuckles. 

"You boys done playing?" he asks. "Yeah, my card is empty." Trey says. "Mine too." says Donnie. "I have some left on mine, you boys take it and go play a few more games on it." you tell them as you hand them your card. 

"Really?" they ask. You smile and nod.

"Thanks Y/n!!!" Trey says. 

"Trey!" Gary growls, annoyed that he isn't addressing you properly. "It's ok, Gary, I told him he can call me by just my name." you say, trying to calm Gary.

"Ok." he says with a frown as the boys take off to finish off your card on some games

. 

"What's the matter, Gary?" you ask. 

"It's nothing." he replies. 

"You sure? I'm sorry if I upset you. I'm just not used to being addressed as Miss Y/n. I guess it's because it makes me feel old. And despite my tinsel in my hair, I don't feel old enough to be called that...yet." you apologize.

He looks at you and smiles. "I didn't even notice the tinsel strands until you mentioned it." he replied as he reached up gently and ran a finger along the hair by your temple where the grey strands were more abundant. "They look nice though." he says with a smile. 

You blush and chuckle. "My sister always teased me about them. Every time we saw each other, she would mention that I had more of them. She would try to fluster me about them, but I just told her that I had earned each and every wisdom highlight God gave me and that I had no intention of pulling them out or coloring them away." you tell him.

"Wisdom Highlights?" Gary asks with a chuckle. You nod. "Yup. I figure they appear when you start to become wise enough to teach others what life has taught you. Once they appear, it's a way to show how much you've learned and shouldn't be something to be ashamed of or to want to remove and hide. I'm proud of my 'silver strands' as my sister called them. 

Gary chuckles. "Well you wear them well. Wish mine looked better on me." he chuckles again. 

You walk over and look at his face for a minute. "I like how they look on you, Gary. Makes you look... distinguished and sexy...." you say with a wink, then go to find the boys and see if they are done with their games yet. 

Gary just stands there for a moment, trying to process what you just said to him. "Was she just flirting with me?" he quietly asks himself and rubs the back of his neck again. He looks over and sees you laughing at the boys while holding your Nerf set in front of you. He likes how you look standing there with them. He wonders how the boys would react if he asked you to be his girlfriend. Would they be happy or upset? He decided he was gonna have to talk to them tonight and see what they think. 

He shakes his head and chuckles. He never expected this to be the outcome when he went to help you with your dropped mail and armload of books yesterday.

He grins and walks over to where you three are. "Are you ready to head out yet?" He asks and the boys nod. "Let me go put these in the machine to get a slip, Dad, then we can go. I don't have enough yet for anything good." Trey says. Donnie joins him. You and Gary go stand by the door and wait for them. Gary's hand on the small of your back as you stand there and watch the boys and talk quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

"Gary, are you guys doing anything tomorrow?" you ask. 

Gary thinks for a moment then shakes his head. "No, why?"

"I have something I need to do tomorrow, and thought you guys might like to tag along. We can take my car if you want." you tell him. 

He smiles. "How long will it take?" he asks. 

"I'm not sure. My friend said it'll take all day. And I thought you guys might like to keep me company and have fun watching." you hint. 

Gary raises an eyebrow. "Watching???" You grin. "You'll see when we get there." you hint. 

"I take it you aren't going to tell us what we will be watching?" Gary asks as he shoves his hands into his front pants pockets. 

"Nope, it's a surprise." you tell him, grinning mischievously.  
  
Gary looks at you curious for a moment. Donnie and Trey come walking back and you mention it to them. They both look at you with questioning eyes. "Trust me, You'll enjoy it." you say. "And if you get bored, you can go and do something else till I'm done, but you just have to come back and pick me up so I can get home." you tease. 

The boys look at each other then up to their Dad. He shrugs and Trey nods. "Ok. What time are you wanting to leave at?" Trey asks. 

You pull the address up on your phone and figure out how long it will take to drive there from your apartment. "I have to be there for 9am, and it will take about a half hour to get there... so be ready by 8:20 am." you tell them. 

Trey groans. "UGH... school time!?!" he says, making you and Gary chuckle. "It'll be worth it, Trey, trust me." you tell him. "OK, y/n, but this had better be good!" he says. 

"Trey!" Gary scolds.

You laugh. "I get it, Trey. Not too keen on waking up early on a summer break day. Let's just say I will owe you one! ok?" you tell him. He nods. 

  
"Come on you goofballs, let's get going! It's almost suppertime. What do we want to do for supper?" Gary asks as he pops a stick of gum into his mouth.

"I have some chicken thawing in the fridge that I was going to make up for supper, care to join me?" you ask. 

The boys get excited and beg their dad to let them join you for supper. He glances over to you and you wink and smile sweetly. He grins and says, "Very well. Do you want us to bring anything?"

You think and tell him. "Whatever you want to eat with the chicken. I was planning on making some white rice and mixed veggies to go with it. You tell him." he nods. "ok." 

Gary stops at the SVU and opens the door for you and helps you in as the two boys get in the back seat and close their doors. Once you're seated, he closes your door and walks around to the driver's side. 

"Yup... he likes you... a lot!" Donnie teases. You look at him puzzled. "He never opened car doors for mom like that." he grins.

You smile and blush. Just then Gary opens the door and gets in. He glances at you and sees you're blushing. He looks back at the boys and they smirk. "Now what did you two say to her to get her so pink?" he asks, not noticing your blush is now beet red. 

They giggle and tease back, "That you must really like her since you never opened the car doors like that for Mom." Donnie replied.

Now it's Gary who is blushing and clearing his throat as he turns forward again and starts the SUV.

You giggle and tell him, "It's ok, Gary. I don't mind."

He glances at you and gives you a little grin, then turns his eyes back to the road and drives towards the exit of the parking lot.

The drive home is quiet, as each of you get lost in your own thoughts. The boys are talking quietly, trying to figure out where you're taking them tomorrow, Gary is trying to figure out how to ask you to be his girlfriend and worried how his boys will react if you say 'no', and you're thinking about how Gary's kids keep hinting that their Dad really likes you. You wonder when he will work up the nerve to ask you out. You glance over at him and smile. He really is quite handsome. You wonder how old he is. 

"Trey, what grade are you going into this fall?" you decide to ask during a lull in their conversation. "I'm going to be a sophomore this year and Donnie will be a senior." he says. 

You think for a minute. "So Donnie, you must be close to 18, and Trey, you must be close to 16, am I right?" you ask.

They giggle. "Yeah. I'm going to be 16 in October, and Donnie will be 18 in February." Trey tells you.

Gary chuckles. "And don't even think of asking y/n her age." He tells them when he sees Trey open his mouth to ask it.

You giggle. "It's ok, Gary, I don't mind. No one ever guesses my age right, anyway." you reply. 

Gary glances at you for a second with a surprised look on his face. 

"So what is your age?" Donnie asks. "Guess." you reply. 

Gary starts laughing, "That's a dangerous question to ask a woman, boys. Because that is the dangerous answer you will always get. And no matter how you answer it, you're sticking your foot in your mouth... and depending on the woman, you risk raising her ire and pissing her off!" he warns. 

You just chuckle. "I promise I will not get upset unless you guess something REALLY old, like 80!!! Then I may have to smack you up side the head!" you tease. 

They think for a minute, "If we have to guess, then so does Dad!" Trey says. Gary about chokes on his gum that he was chewing. He starts coughing and you look at him worried. He waves you off, "I'm fine. Just about swallowed my gum though." he rumbles. He looks up in the rear view mirror at the giggling boys and mumbles, "Brats!" They both grin and say, "Well, Dad?"

He growls, "Fine, I'll play. But this IS a rude game to be playing with someone you've just met a day ago." he tells them.

You chuckle. "Trey, you first." you say. 

He thinks for a minute, "25?" you chuckle.

"Donnie, what is your guess?" He thinks too then looks at his dad, then back to you. "Ummm, 32?"

Again you chuckle. "Gary, what is your guess?" 

He glances at you for a second, then turns his eyes back to the road. "38." he says quietly. You chuckle again and say nothing. 

"Well?????" The boys ask from the back seat. 

You smirk. "I will tell you when we get back to the apartment, who was the closest." 

"What???" All three look at you surprised. (Luckily Gary was waiting at a stop light and not driving.)

You just grin. "Oh, Don't get your boxers in a bunch! We're almost home! It's not gonna kill you to wait a few minutes!" you tease them. 

"Hey!!!!" trey says, then Donnie covers his mouth, realizing what he was probably going to say. 

You bust up laughing and are doubled over. Gary smirks and realizes the same thing Donnie did. That Trey was probably going to ask you how you knew they all wore boxers! He knew you meant it as a figure of speech, but it was just too amusing to him since it was true, they all wore boxers!

You finally got control of yourself a block from the apartment. You apologized for laughing. Gary chuckled. "Let me guess... your brothers wore boxers?" 

You nodded, "Yup, dad did too." you giggled again. "That was mom's favourite saying when they got themselves all riled up about something. Don't worry, I won't ask. Not my business." You giggle again when you hear a sigh from the back seat. It sets you off in another giggle fit and by the time Gary parks the SUV in their spot, you have calmed down again. He chuckles because he enjoys your giggles. "Well now that we are parked... " he begins. 

You look at him and smile... "40." you say. 

"Huh?" Gary asks, confused.

You start giggling and say, "40." 

Gary raises an eyebrow, not understanding.

"40 what?" Trey asks.

You bust up laughing. "I'm 40!" you reply. You look at the three of them and see the stunned look on their faces. "I told you, no one has ever guessed my age correctly, though, you did come close." you tell Gary.

"No way!!! You're not 40!" Trey says, causing you to laugh again.

"Yes, Trey!" you tell him laughing. He doesn't believe you until you tell him your birthday and the year you were born. "Do the math, Trey..." you tell him.

Gary shakes his head, chuckles, gets out and comes around to open your door and stands by it laughing when he sees Trey doing the math in his head and then realizes you're telling the truth.

"WOW!!! Mom didn't look as young as you do when she turned 40!" Trey said. Danny smacked him and laughed. 

You chuckle, "I got good genes from both sides of my family. None of us looked our ages!" you tell him. 

The boys chuckle as they get out of the SUV. Gary had opened your door for you and you hop out and thank him. He grins and nods, then closes the door. He is happy to realize the age gap between you two is much smaller than he first thought. When he first met you, he thought you were in your mid to late 20's!

You all head into the apartment building. You and Gary both check your mailboxes and you find nothing. He has a few envelopes and junk mail. 

The four of you head up to your floor and you stop at their door. "Get what you want to contribute for supper and then just come in, you don't need to knock or ring the doorbell this time. You tell them. See you in a few minutes!" you say and head for your door. Donnie unlocks the door as Gary watches you round the corner. Trey nudges him and he looks down at Trey.   
  
"When are you gonna ask her out?!?" he says totally serious. Gary raises an eyebrow. "You want me to ask her out?" he asks, surprised as they head into the apartment. "Duh Dad!" Donnie says.  
Trey nods. "She is pretty, and funny, and kind, and thoughtful. She has been through a lot worse than we have, Dad. She enjoys being with us and you can't stop looking at her like a love sick puppy!" he teases. "She said she wouldn't mind going out with you if you worked up the courage to ask." Trey hinted causing Gary's jaw to drop. "You asked her?" he asked incredulous. 

"Why not? She seemed to like you and you obviously like her! I guess it just seemed inevitable and I was curious as to what she would say." Trey explained. "Don't worry, Dad, she was really nice about it and wasn't offended." he assures his dad.

Gary rubbed his face and groaned. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your noses out of my dating life." he tells them. They both grin. "If that ever happens..." Donnie says.

Gary looks at him and sighs. "Go get washed up for supper. Don't forget you two have a bookcase to put together for her too!!!"  
  
They boys head for the bathroom and Gary looks in the fridge for the crescent rolls he bought the other day. He finds them in the bottom of the fridge and grabs the two containers and places them on the counter. He opens the freezer and looks in to see if there is anything he can bring for dessert. He sees the Chocolate Silk Pie the boys begged him to buy to celebrate their new apartment. He shrugs, "Now's as good as any time to have it." he thinks and grabs it too. 

He closes the freezer door just as the boys came walking into the little entry way. He hands Donnie the pie and grabs the crescent rolls and they head out. Gary locks the door and they go down the hall to your apartment. Donnie chuckles as he hears the same music playing as he heard yesterday when he left you the invitation under your door. 

Gary looks at him funny. "I heard the music yesterday in the hallway and had wondered where it was coming from." he explained. Gary shrugged. 

He raised his hand to knock, but Trey just grabbed the handle and opened the door. "Y/N, we're here!" he hollered out. You turned down the music and came into the hallway. "Hi, come on in! I just turned the oven on and am letting it preheat." you explained. 

You turned off the music and came out of your work out room and went into the kitchen to wash your hands. "So what did you bring?" you asked. 

"Here!" said Donnie as he hands you the chocolate silk pie. "OOOOHHHH! I LOVE this pie!!!" you say. "Anything chocolate is up my alley... well except for chocolate covered bugs... that's just gross!" you amend.

Donnie starts laughing. "Who in their right mind would eat a chocolate covered bug?" he asks laughing.   


"I follow a guy on YouTube who gets packages from his fans from all over the world. He does videos of him opening the packages of gifts from people. When he gets really odd things, especially foods or candies from another state or country, he does separate videos of him trying the foods / candies. They are hilarious !!! One of the things people seem to like to send him are chocolate covered insects... much to his dismay." you tell them. "He did try them! The video was hilarious. He even screwed up the courage to eat a chocolate covered scorpion and a chocolate covered spider of somekind!" you tell them. 

Trey and Donnie look at you in disbelief! "I gotta see this, can you pull up the guy's channel?" They ask. You nod. "Give me your phone." you tell them.

Donnie hands you his unlocked phone. You pull up YouTube and then search for the guy's channel. You find the one where he eats the bugs and hand it to Donnie. They watch it, and so does Gary, and they are all gagging as they see him pop the bugs in his mouth and then they are laughing at his reactions. 

"This guy is HILARIOUS!" Trey says laughing so hard he is crying. "I'm gonna follow him!"

Gary rolls his eyes and moves to help you with supper. "How bout you put the phones away and go work on the bookcases while we get supper ready." he suggests.

They look up and nod and pocket the phones. They head for the living room and you chuckle.

"Now, what do you want me to do?" Gary asks. You see the two tubes of crescent rolls and grin. "You can do those! The canisters hate me and won't open for me unless I throw them across the room!" you tell him. He laughs a hearty laugh.

You look at him and raise an eyebrow. "You're not joking, are you?" he asks. You shake your head, no. Then raise your right arm. He nods, "Ahhh, yes." he says with a wink. 

You chuckle and pull out the seasoning for the chicken. You sprinkle it on the chicken and then use a tong to flip them over and season the other side. You look at the canister of the crescent roll and turn down the temp so it won't burn the rolls. Then you put the chicken on the middle rack, leaving room for a pan of rolls. You set the timer for an hour and then look at the box of rice to see how long it needs to cook for. It takes a half hour and the mixed veggies take about 10-12 minutes. So you tell your phone to set a timer for a half an hour. It sets the timer and then you look at Gary.

"When you get them rolled, put them on the cookie sheets up there and then put them in the fridge until we need to bake them." 

"The chicken will need to bake for a bit before we put the rolls in and start the rice and veggies. Wash your hands again, then grab the plates and silverware and we can set the table while we wait." You tell Gary. He nods and does so, then grabs the plates and silverware while you clean off the table and take out the glasses and place mats and serving bowls. 

Once the table is set, you two sit and watch the boys work on the bookcase. When your alarm on your phone goes off, the two of you get up and Gary puts the first pan of rolls in and sets an alarm on his phone. You get out a pot and have him fill it with water and set it on to boil. You pull out the box of rice and hand it to him. "Here, you do the rice, I'll toss the veggies in the microwave in a few minutes." You say. He nods. 

You go to the fridge and open the freezer. You pull out two bags of frozen mixed veggies and pop one in the microwave. You set the time and hit start.

Then you open the fridge and look in for the butter. Gary peeks over your shoulder and sees your fridge is pretty bare. "What are you lookin for?" he asks. You dig in the bottom bins and find the opened box of butter and pull out a stick and set it on the counter. "Just needed some butter. My current one is almost gone." you reply. "Sorry, I don't have much for beverages. I usually am drinking my tea or water. I don't do sodapop very often." you explain. "I have milk and juice though if anyone wants some." 

Gary smiles. "It's ok. Water or Milk will be fine for the boys, I'll have some tea though if you're going to have some." he replies.

You nod. "The tea is up in the cabinet there by your head." you tell him as you grab the tea kettle and fill it with water. You place it on the back burner and turn that one on to heat. 

Gary takes two coffee mugs down and places an Earl Grey tea in his mug, then looks at you, "Which tea do you want?" he asks. You think for a minute and look at the time on your phone. "I better just do the buttermint one. I don't need any caffiene now or I won't be able to sleep tonight." you tell him.

He nods and pulls out a buttermint one for you and plops it in the cup for you. 

Once the water is boiling nicely, Gary measures out the rice and pours it into the water. He follows the directions on the box and gets it cooking.

You pull out the bag of now cooked mixed veggies and dumps them into the serving bowl and puts the lid on it. Then you toss the other bag in the microwave and set the time then push start. The timer goes off for the crescent rolls and you hand Gary a pot holder and he takes the first batch out of the oven. Then he takes the other pan you hand to him from the fridge and he puts it in the oven. 

"Can you check the temp on the chicken for me since you have the oven open?" you ask as you hold out a meat thermometer. He does and tells you what it temps at. You nod and he hands you the thermometer back. You wash it off in the sink, then set it on the counter. "Hopefully they will be done by the time the rest of the food is." you say.

A half hour later, the food is all finished cooking. You and Gary are enjoying your teas and the boys have half of the bookcase completed. You pull the second batch of Crescent rolls out of the oven and add them to the basket of cooled ones and place it on the table. You temp the chicken and it is done cooking, so you dish it up on the serving platter and bring it to the table as well. You grab the butter, unwrap it and put it in the butter dish with the last bit that was left over. You put it on the table with the rest of the food.

"Come on, guys, let's eat!" you tell them. They come over and eye the food hungrily. "Do you want milk, juice, water or tea to drink?" you ask. "Milk is fine." Donnie says. Trey nods. You go and get the gallon jug and hand it to them. They pour milk into their glasses and hand it back to you. You put it back in the fridge then sit down. 

You grin and look around at your new friends sitting at your table. "It's nice not having to sit here by myself for once!" you say happily. "Its been a long time since I've had so many people over to my home for a meal!" you tell them. They just grin at you. 

"Well, dig in, unless you guys pray beforehand." you tell them. They shake their heads no, and start digging in. They pass the food around the table and you all take what you want. 

"When did you last have company?" Donnie asks you. 

"I had all the doctors and nurses and PT staff over shortly after I was discharged as a thank you for their help and support. The Fire Department came as well, since they were the ones who dug me out of the apartment building. We had a grand old party and a HUGE barbeque." you giggled. "It was a lot of fun!" you tell Donny. 

He smiled. "That was really nice of you." Trey says. You nod.

"They became my family after I had lost mine. They would come and check in with me weekly after I got discharged to make sure I wasn't needing something. If I was, they would go get it for me or help me with stuff like packing for my move. The off duty fire fighters came and loaded up all my furniture and boxes for me into a moving truck they rented for me, and contacted the department here and made arrangements with them to have the off duty firefighters here to help me unload all my stuff." you explained. "Cool!" Trey says. 

"Yeah, one of the firefighters from back home, the one who actually found me and pulled me from the rubble, actually drove the moving truck here for me and then when we got it all unloaded, he drove it back home." you tell them.

Gary smiles. "It was nice of them to do that for you. Not everyone would be willing to."

You nod. "I don't know what I would've done with out their help. There was no way I was going to be able to move all that stuff and I was hesitant to hire a moving company." You explained as you ate.

"So what are you going to put in the bookcase once it's all together?" Trey asks.

You grin. "My library." 

Gary looks at you with a surprised face. "You have a library?" he asks. 

You nod. "Yeah, I love to read, and have collected a LOT of books since the tornadoes. Back home, before the tornado, the used bookstore owners knew me by name and would actually call me when they got a book in that they thought I might like." you giggled. 

"Where are your books?" Donnie asks, looking around. 

"They're in my office along the wall right now." you chuckled. "And yes, I will need help bringing them into the living room. For now, though, I just need to get the bookcases together and placed where I want them." you tell them.

They nod and the four of you chatter and visit throughout the meal. Once everyone is full, the boys head back to work on the bookcase while you and Gary clean up. You run water into the wash basin in the sink and add soap. Gary brings you the dishes from the table and you rinse them all off and place them in the soapy water. 

"Gary, could you take any leftovers and put them in the plastic containers from that drawer over there?" you ask. 

Gary nods and goes to collect the leftovers. He looks over at you as you wash the dishes by hand. You are rinsing the plate off and he notices the water is steaming. He frowns and comes over. He notices your right hand is beet red. "Sweetheart, how hot is that water you're rinsing with?" he asks as he sticks a finger under the running water and quickly pulls it out when he feels it's scalding hot. You look up at him and see his worried expression. 

"Huh?" you ask. "Y/n, you're burning your hand with that water, look how red it is? Can't you feel that?" he asks. You look down and your eyes open wide. "No! I didn't notice, I didn't feel how hot it was." you say. You stick your other hand in the running water and quickly pull it out! You swivel the faucet handle over so it releases slightly cooler water. You wait a minute and try it again with your good hand. "Ahh, that's better. Sorry, Gary. I forget to check that when I do dishes sometimes." you apologize. "Sorry if I scared you." you say. 

Gary puts a hand on your shoulder and tells you, "I'm glad I noticed. Do you always wash dishes by hand. You do have a dishwasher, you know." he says pointing at the machine. 

You chuckle. "I can wash them by hand faster than that thing and I use less water than it does." you tell him. "Besides, the water feels good on my hand, and it helps me gauge IF my nerves that sense temperature changes have started working or not." you explain. 

Gary nods and puts the leftover chicken in the fridge. He looks at the little bit of rice and veggies left and looks at you with a questioning look. You glance over and tell him to just dump it all in one container and you'll have it for lunch this week with some of the chicken. He nods and does so, then puts it in the fridge too.

He brings over the rest of the dirty serving bowls and utensils and sets them on the counter by you. "Want me to dry some of these for you?" he asks as he glances at the nearly full dish rack. 

You nod. "There's dish towels in the drawer by the fridge." you tell him.

Gary pulls out a flower sack dish towel with a smiling teapot embroidered on it. He looks at it and chuckles. When he opens it up he sees a few holes in it and looks at you with a raised eyebrow. You grin. "My grandma made those for me when I graduated high school. A firefighter found them in the remains of my kitchen when they were digging around looking for anything that was salvageable for me before the building was cleared for demolition." you explain. "My neighbor recognized them and told him they were made by my grandmother and that they were something I cherished as I didn't have much left from her after her death. He saved them for me and gave them to me at my new apartment when he helped me move in." you told Gary.

"I need to patch the holes though. I miss my sewing machine. I don't think I can handle sewing by hand right now." you chuckle. He grins and nods as he starts to dry the dishes. He puts away the ones in the cabinet, and the ones that he isn't sure where they came from, he asks and you tell him where they go. Soon enough, you both have all the dishes done and put away. You grin and pull out the pie. 

"Ready for dessert? or do you want to wait a bit more?" You ask him. He grins. "We can have it now. Donnie, Trey, want some of that chocolate pie now?" he calls out. The two boys come running and you cut pieces for all of them and one for yourself. Gary hands you the smaller plates as you dish up the pie pieces. He hands them to the boys along with forks and they go sit at the table and eat. 

You hand Gary a piece of the pie for his plate and you put one on the last plate for yourself. He hands you a fork and the two of you join the boys at the table. 

"Do you want more milk?" you ask the boys. They shake their heads. "No, but some water would be good." Donnie says. "Please and thankyou." You chuckle and take the boys' glasses and fill them with water from the sink. You come back to the table and hand them their glasses. "More tea, Gary?" you ask. He nods and you go grab his teabag he had set on the wrapper. You hand it to him and then grab the tea kettle and fill his cup with the hot water. You pour some in your cup and return the kettle to the stove and turn the heat off for it. You grab your teabag and drop it into the cup. 

You all enjoy the pie and chat a bit more. When everyone is done eating and drinking, you collect the plates and silverware and set them in the soapy water. You put the remaining pie back in the box and set it in the fridge. "Don't forget to take that with you when you go." you tell Gary. "If you leave it here, it may not be there when you come back." you warn him. He grins and gives you a wink. 

"How's the bookcase coming?" you ask the boys. 

"It's almost finished. Where do you want us to put it?" Donnie asks. You go into the living room to look. 

"Put it against the wall over there you say pointing near the corner of the room. They nod and you turn to go back to the kitchen. You chuckle when you see Gary had snuck in there and washed the dishes and cups and silverware from dessert. You raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You didn't have to do that, Gary, I could've done them." you tell him. 

"I know." he replies. "But we helped dirty them, it's only fair we help wash them up." he tells you. 

You chuckle and grab your tea from the table. You sip on it and turn to watch the boys finish the book case and move it to the corner you indicated. "Is this where you wanted it?" Donnie asks. You nod. 

"Thanks, boys for doing that for me!" you tell them as they start to pick up the plastic bags, styrofoam, and cardboard from the box the bookcase came in.

"Here's the extra pieces they give you in case you lose some." Donnie says. "Do you have a zipper bag or container you can put them in?" He asks. You nod and the two of you go in the kitchen. You open a drawer and pull out a plastic zipper bag. You open it and he dumps the spare pieces in it. You take a permanent marker and write on the bag, "Bookcase in living room" and hand it back to Donnie. "Would you please put this in the tool box in the living room with the tools you used? That way I have it all in one place." you ask. He nods and heads back to finish helping Trey clean up.

You stand by the dining room table sipping your tea. Gary comes and stands behind you sipping his. He puts a hand on your shoulder. "They did a good job with it. The bookcase looks nice." he says. 

"One down... two to go..." you say giggling. He looks at you for a minute, "What do you mean?" Gary asks. You turn and walk down the hallway, flipping the hall light on. Garry follows you. You turn into your office, flip the light on and point to the massive wall of boxes labeled, "BOOKS" along with two more boxes of bookcases to be put together. 

Gary's jaw drops. "You weren't kidding when you said you had a library then." he says, gobsmacked. Have you read ALL those books?" He asks looking at you surprised. You nod. "Yup. When the hospital staff and the firefighters found out I enjoyed reading they would buy me books or give me ones that were donated by people for those who were injured in the tornadoes. I read most of them while I was recovering. You explain. My nurse kept a running list of which books I had and who gave them to me so I didn't end up with multiples." you tell him. He just shakes his head and looks at you in awe. "WOW!" he says quietly. 

You giggle. "The firefighters were grumbling about all the boxes of books though, when it came time to move them. They literally had to line the two walls of the trailer from front to back, top to bottom with the boxes so the trailer would be evenly balanced." you explain. Gary chuckles. "I can imagine they weren't too happy about carrying all those boxes." he says. "They got smart after the first trip to the trailer." you tell him. "Someone went and got three dollies and they started stacking the boxes on the dollies to take to the trailer." you giggle. 

"WOAH!!!!!" you two suddenly hear and turn to see Danny and Trey standing in the doorway. "Are those ALL books?" they ask. You giggle and nod. "And I have two more bookcases that need putting together if you're up for it later this week." you tell them. They both grin and nod. "Sure!" they say. 

"y/n, is this your therapy room?" Trey asks. 

"No, that is the next room down. Do you want to see it?" you ask. He nods.

You move towards the door and the two boys back out into the hallway to make room for you and Gary to exit the office room. You head down to the next room and the boys follow you. Gary flips off the light in the office and then joins you three. You flip on the light in the Therapy Room and the boys look around in awe. Gary stands in the doorway watching his boys' reactions to seeing your therapy room, curious to see what they gravitate towards.

Donnie heads to your exercise equipment and checks it out. Trey gravitates to your wall of unfinished paintings. Gary grinned. He figured correctly. 

Trey squats down and looks at them, asking you about each one. You answer his questions happily. Then he stands and looks up at your finished paintings. He notices the stuff on your shelves and goes to look at them.

"What are all those cards up there?" He asks pointing at the multiple rows of cards on the top shelf.

"Those are all the get well / well wishes cards I got while I was in the hospital from the hospital staff, emergency first responders, and community where I lived. I even got one from the president of the US!" you tell him. 

"Really?" The two boys ask excitedly. "Can we see it?" they beg. You chuckle and nod. "I'll have to go get my ladder to get it though. I can't reach it from here." You tell them. You move to the closet and pull out a three step ladder. You open it up and place it in front of the shelves. Gary watches nervously as you climb up the ladder and carefully and reach up to the top shelf and slide some cards over. You grab one and carefully make your way down the ladder again. 

Curious, he comes and stands behind the boys to see the card that the President of the US gave to you. It had a gold seal and a picture of the White house on the front with the words, "Get Well Soon" hand written at the top.

When Danny opened the card, there was a picture of the Oval Office on the inside and a hand written note from the President telling you how sorry he was to see all the destruction in your town. He wrote that he was glad to hear you survived and were rescued from your apartment building and that he came to see you, but you were still unconscious from the surgery. He wrote that he wishes you a speedy recovery and invites you to come visit at the White House when you recover as he would very much like to meet you. "Blessings to you! My thoughts and prayers for a full recovery are with you, Y/n." and his signature was at the bottom of the card in blue ink. 

"COOL!!!!! The President actually came to the hospital to see you?!?!?! They asked as they turned to look at you. You chuckled. "Apparently. The hospital staff were excited to tell me that when I finally was allowed to regain consciousness. Here..." you say and dig around in a filing cabinet and fish out a photo album. You flip through it and find the picture your nurse took of you with the President. You showed it to them. You were laying in your bed with all kinds of tubes and hoses and a very bruised face and arms and there, standing next to you, holding your casted hand was THE President of the US.

The boys looked up at you and then down to the picture. "WOW!!!!! That's sooooo Cooolllll!!!!" Trey exclaimed. You grinned and closed the album, then put it back in the cabinet and dug around some more.

You pulled out the cast you had worn that day and showed them the signatures of the people who signed it. You pointed out the President's one, and a couple other big name actors who came to tour the damage and help with the clean up. They had heard about what had happened to you and had came to see how you were doing. The boys practically flipped out when they heard that. Gary just laughed and told them to calm down. You giggled and put the cast back in the cabinet and closed the door.

You notice Donnie looking at your corner shelf. You walk over to him and look up at the picture and figurine. "Is that your sister?" he asks quietly. You reach up and take down the picture. "Yes, that's me and her about a month before the tornadoes hit." you tell him. "It was the last time I saw her alive." you say quietly.

Trey and Gary come and stand by you as you hold the picture.

"Can I see?" Trey asks.

You show him the picture of you and your sister.

"She looks almost like your twin!" he exclaims as he looks up at your face. You grin. "Yes, she did, but we weren't twins. She was about two and a half years younger than me." you tell him. It was one of the things a firefighter had found in my bedroom area that wasn't damaged. My figurine up there was sitting next to it also undamaged. My sister had sent me the figurine with a note saying she saw it and thought of us. She said the dark haired one was me and the blonde one was supposed to be her." you tell them. You reach up and put the photo carefully back up on the corner shelf above the art easel.

"I paint to keep her memory alive." you explain. "Did you look at the waterfall painting in the living room above the couch?" You ask the boys.

They nod. "It is really pretty. I could almost hear the water falling on the rocks." Donnie said. 

You grinned. "My sister painted that." you tell them. They look at you surprised. 

"It is the only thing I have besides this picture and the figurine that were from her. It was found a long ways from my apartment and only had the one spot of water damage. Luckily she had written my name on the back of the painting and the person who found it searched for me and returned it to me at the hospital. One of the Maintenance men at the hospital was kind enough to hang it in my room on a wire that he hooked to the drop ceiling, so I was able to enjoy it during my recovery." you explain to the boys. "That one I will never part with." you say.

Donnie looks around and then asks. "I understand the painting as being therapeutic, but why the weight machine and weights and exercise ball?"

You chuckle. "I have to keep up with the physical therapies I had to do as part of my recovery. I lost a LOT of strength and muscle mass being in that hospital for as long as I was. I am still working on getting my strength back. We focused primarily on my lower body so that I could sit up, stand and walk on my own. Now I am having to work on regaining strength in my arm also. I still don't have full feeling in my arm, hand and fingers." you explain. 

"Oh! Okay!" he says. "What do you use the ball for?" Trey says as he sits on it and bounces a bit. You chuckle. "Try sitting on it and lifting both your feet up off the ground." You tell him. 

He tries and falls off. Gary and Donnie giggle. 

You walk over and help him up. "Here, like this..." you say and sit on the ball carefully and find your balance. You show him how you slowly lift one foot off the floor about an inch and then lift the other one up an inch off the floor as well. "It helps to strengthen the core muscles in your pelvic area and helps to reprogram the brain and body so they communicate about balance better." you tell him. "It took me 4 months to be able to do this after finally regaining enough strength to sit up on my own." you explain to them. 

"Can I try it?" Donnie asks. You nod and stand up. You move to stand by Gary while Donnie carefully sits on the ball. He wobbles around a bit until he gets the feel for balancing on it and then slowly raises one foot and wobbles again. "Wow! This is harder than it looks!" he tells you. You chuckle and nod.

"Dad, you should try it. I want to see if you can do it!" Trey says. Gary looks at you with a raised eyebrow. "Go ahead, though I think it might be too small for your height. You'd probably need the bigger one. This one is for vertically challenged people like me." you tease him.

Gary chuckles and boots Donnie off the ball. He tries to sit on the ball and sees what you mean about it being too small for him. He grins. "Yeah, it's a bit small for me." he says, "Though this would be much better for sitting on at my desk at school than those uncomfortable office chairs!" he ponders out loud. 

"They are often used in the schools for kids with ADD/ADHD so they can bounce on them a little and still pay attention. Offices often use them too to help with stabilizing the low back and core muscles." you tell him.

"I might have to get one then." he says as he flops off of it onto the floor and then gets up. "I suppose they're easier to get off of if one has the right sized one." he says. You nod.

"Well, boys, we need to get going so we can all get some sleep before y/n takes us to do whatever she is going to have us do with her tomorrow morning." he tells the boys. They groan and you giggle. "Trust me, You'll have fun tomorrow." you tell them. "I might even treat us to ice cream when we get done." you tease. 

The three men in front of you all grin huge grins when they hear that. You chuckle and shoo them out of the therapy room. They laugh and head down the hall to the living room/dining area. 

Gary looks at the pile of cardboard and styrofoam in the living room. "Boys, how bout you haul that out to the dumpster/ recycling and I'll meet you at our apartment when you're done." Gary suggests.

They nod and thank you for coming with to the arcade and thank you for supper. "My pleasure, boys. Thanks for making the day so much fun!" You tell them. "Thanks for putting my bookcase together too!" you say. 

They nod and pick up the cardboard, plastic and styrofoam and Gary opens the door for them to haul it out to the dumpster. Once they are out in the hallway he closes the door. You chuckle and lean against the wall. "Thanks for inviting me to join you guys at the arcade. I had a fun day with all of you." you say with a grin. He comes up to you and grins. 

"I'm glad you had fun. Thanks for the supper. You're an excellent cook!" he says. "I had a lot of fun with you today too. Would you like to do that again sometime?" Gary asks. 

You grin and nod. "Yeah. I would." you tell him. He smiles. 

"I know we only met yesterday, but I really have enjoyed getting to know you and spending time with you. My boys really like you too." he says nervously. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me. Maybe we could do a picnic or go see a movie, or something." he asked shyly.

You grin. "I'd love to Gary." you say and give him a kiss on the cheek. He blushes and grins. "Thanks." he says and takes your hands in his. "I was really looking forward to today. You're so easy to talk to and so friendly. It's like a breath of fresh air for me and the boys." he tells you.

"I'm glad you dropped your mail and cussed the other day. It was your sweet voice cussing that caught my attention. It totally threw me how such a sweet voice could be cussing like a sailor." Gary said, chuckling which earned a giggle from you.

"One word, Gary... Brothers." you replied. Gary laughed one of his hearty, chest rumbling laughs. "Oh, my sweetheart, you are a joy to be around." he said and put his forehead against yours. "Thank you for making me laugh more today than I have in the last three years." he tells you and lightly kisses your lips.

You grin and gently kiss him back. He smiles and deepens the kiss a bit. You match his kisses and bring his hands that are entwined with yours up to your chest and give them a gentle squeeze.

Gary lets go of your hands and cups your face as he comes up for air. "I better go, sweetheart. Otherwise the boys will come looking for me and I'll never hear the end of it." he whispers.

You grin and run your hands up his chest and stand on your tiptoes to reach his neck and pull him back down. "One more?" you beg.

He grins and carefully wraps you in his arms and kisses you soundly. You groan and so does he when you weave your fingers up into his hair and start to massage his scalp by the base of his head. He wraps one hand around the back of your head and the other at your low back. He pulls you against him and continues to kiss you silly, nibbling on your ear and neck and nipping your skin gently. You nip his lower lip and he returns the favor. You part your lips for him and he begins to explore your mouth and tease your tongue with his. The two of you are lost in the kiss when suddenly his cell starts to ring. He moans and breaks the kiss. You giggle. "Your boys looking for you?" you ask. He declines the call and nods. 

You grin and he kisses you again before letting you go. "Goodnight, Love. See you in the morning for your surprise." he says and gives you a longing look before opening the door. You step over to the door, give him one more breathtaking kiss and say, "Goodnight, Gary. Sleep well tonight." He grins and nods. Then starts heading down the hallway. He looks back at you and gives you a panty melting grin before rounding the corner and heads for his door. 

You sigh happily and close the door to your apartment and lock it. Today turned out better than you could've ever thought. You started the day single and alone, and ended it with a boyfriend and his two kids becoming a major part of your life. And tomorrow you all get to meet your new dog, Zeus, and learn his commands so he can alert you all when things are not going well. You hope he will be a help to Gary and his boys as well as for you. 

You sigh and grin a lovesick grin as you head back to the kitchen to turn off the lights. Then you head to the living room and do the same. You wander into your bedroom and get ready for bed. You plug in your phone and set your alarms for getting up and for heading out to go get Zeus. Tomorrow is one day you definitely do not wan to oversleep! 

As you get ready for bed you keep thinking about Gary's kisses and you grin, still feeling the scrape of his beard against your face and lips, the feel of his lips against your neck, the feel of his arms around you. You tingled all over. Giggling, you looked at yourself in the mirror. Your lips and skin around them were red and your lips swollen from his kisses. You grinned and went to climb into bed. You yawned and quickly fell asleep dreaming about being in Gary's arms and his wonderful kisses. 


	5. Chapter 5

Gary came round the corner and found his sons standing smirking at the door waiting for him. He grinned and said, "What? Did you both forget your keys?" They smirk, "No, just wanted to see if you asked her out and kissed her yet." Trey said grinning mischievously. "And by the looks of it, that would be a yes!" Donnie replies smugly.

"Get in the apartment!" Gary scolds, smiling and pushes their heads towards the door. "So, is she a good kisser, Dad?" Donnie teases seeing his dad's lips are red and a little swollen, and his hair a bit messy in back.

Gary glares at him, "I'm not discussing my dating life or lack there of with you two!" he says with a smirk. Donnie looks at Gary then at Trey and grins. "Trey, I believe that is Dad's way of saying, "Yes, boys she is a great kisser!" he teases.

Gary rolls his eyes and puts the two boys in a headlock. One in each arm. "And now it's time for the two of you to mind your own business and get ready for bed! We have a school day start tomorrow, don't forget. I want you ready before she gets here to pick us up!" he reminds them as he drags them to their rooms. When he lets them out of the headlocks they each give him a hug.

Trey looks up at him and says, "Dad, I'm glad you met her the other day. She is really nice. I like her a lot. Do you think she will stick around?" he asks.

Gary looks down at Trey and puts his hand on Trey's back. "I'm glad I met her too, Trey, and I'm glad you both like her as well. I have no clue if she will stick around, but we'll enjoy our time that we do get to have with her and see where life takes us." he tells his youngest son. "Now get going and get ready for bed." he tells him after giving him a hug.

Trey goes in his room and closes the door. "Night Dad!" Gary hears him say as he walks to his door. "Night boys, sleep well!" he tells them.

Gary goes into his room and closes his bedroom door. He sits down on the bed and sighs happily, remembering how you looked when he kissed you. He grinned remembering you begging for one more kiss before he left and how deep the kiss became. He ached to hold you again and wondered what it would be like being married to you. You were obviously good with his boys and liked them. He was glad they liked you too.

He thought about your disabilities and wondered how you manage now that your firefighter friends are not here to help you. He grinned thinking about all those books you had. He had never seen so many books in a private library before. He wondered how many you had and how fast you read them.

Gary flopped onto the bed and thought more about you. He wondered where you were going to take him and the boys tomorrow and what they were going to be watching. He was curious and came up with all different possibilities. He sighed and then realized he didn't have your phone number. He chuckled and shook his head. "Gary, how could you ask her out on a date and NOT get her phone number!" he chided himself shaking his head and grinning like an idiot.

He got up and headed for his bathroom to get ready for bed. He stripped off his pants, shirt and socks and tossed them in the laundry hamper. He grabbed his pajama pants and slipped them on. Then brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized he _looked_ happier than he had in a long time.

He grinned and headed back into the bedroom. He climbed into bed and flipped off the lights. He fell asleep dreaming about you and what he wanted to do for a date with just the two of you.

Later on that night, around 2 am, Gary woke up. He wasn't sure why at first, then he heard the noise again. He groaned and got up. Walking into the hallway, he checked on Donnie in his room. He was sleeping soundly. Then Gary heard Trey cry out and it woke Donnie up. Donnie startled seeing a figure in his doorway until he realized it was his Dad.

"Trey?" he asked. Gary nodded then moved to open Trey's door. Donnie followed.

They came in and saw Trey curled up in a ball on his bed with his bed sheets all over the place. He was squirming and covering his head, having a flashback to seeing the tornadoes by the church. Gary and Donnie came and sat on opposite sides of the bed from each other. Trey was still in the midst of the nightmare and tossed and turned.

"Trey." Gary said as he shook his son's shoulder. Trey just mumbled something intelligible. "Come on, Trey, wake up! It's just a nightmare." Gary said a little firmer as he shook Trey's shoulder again. Trey still didn't wake up.

Donnie got down on the floor and knelt by Trey's head. He took Trey's face in his hands and said, "Come on Trey, wake up!" in a loud, firm tone. Trey's eyes flew open and he startled. He looked around frantically, his heart racing. "Donnie? Dad?" he asked scared.

"We're here, Trey, you were having another night mare / flashback episode." Gary says as Trey crawls into his arms with tears running down his cheeks. "Why do I keep having these, Dad?" he asks.

"I don't know, Trey. I wish I knew what to tell you to help you." he said as he rubbed Trey's head and back.

"I get them too, sometimes, Trey." Donnie tells him. "I'll wake up feeling trapped like when Kaitlyn and I were in the paper mill. I've never been so scared in my life. I honestly didn't think anyone would find us alive." he told Trey and his Dad.

"Dad?" Trey mumbles into his Dad's chest, "Do you get them? The flashbacks and night mares?" Trey asks.

Gary heaves a sigh, "Yeah. Sometimes, I'll wake up from one. Usually when it's storming outside, or if I've had a stressful day at work." he says quietly.

"Dad, can we go talk to y/n's friends and see if they can help us get rid of these flashbacks and nightmares? She said they helped her out a lot and she seems happy with them. Can we give it a try?" Trey begs.

Gary nods, "If that is something you think would help, we can go and try it. Do you want to try it, Donnie?" Gary asks him. Donnie nods. "I'll try anything to get them to go away." he replies.

Gary sighs, relieved that the boys were willing to try it. "I will ask y/n for the phone number and names of them tomorrow when we go to meet with her for wherever she is taking us." he tells them.

"You boys gonna be ok to sleep in your rooms tonight or do we want to camp out in the living room again?" he asks. The two boys grin and ask to camp out in the living room. Gary gets up and goes to get his phone from his room. He grabs his pillow and the comforter from off the bed. He drags them to the living room where the two boys did the same.

"Everyone remember to set alarms on your phones to get up and get ready?" he asked them. They both nod. He checks to make sure his is set and that it is plugged in to charge some more.

Gary lays down on the floor on his back with a son on either side of him. They look up at your painting and think about the fun camping trip they had in Colorado.  
"Dad, do you think we could figure out a way to go camping and take y/n with us so she can be comfortable and have fun too?" Trey asks.

Gary chuckles. "Let me think about it, Trey. Maybe I can figure something out." he replies. "For now, go to sleep. Morning will come fast for us and we don't want to make y/n late." he tells his boys. They cuddle against him and everyone falls asleep pretty quickly after that, dreaming about camping in Colorado along the river with the waterfall.

***********

Morning arrives and your alarm is playing "Good Morning" by Mandisa. You wake up chuckling, remembering the nurse who programmed it into your phone. She made you promise to always use that ringtone for your morning alarm to remind yourself that today was another blessing for you to wake up to.

You excitedly got up and got ready. You showered and got dried off. You picked out a pair of blue jean shorts, an army green tank top, your brother's army light weight jacket with your last name on the patch, and picked up your tool to help you get your socks on so you could wear your new tennis shoes today. You got dressed and groaned at the thought of tying your shoes again. You wished you had gotten Gary's cell number or his sons' number so maybe one of them could come tie them for you. You shrugged, and decided to slip into them and see if one of them would tie them for you before you all left. You ran a brush through your hair and pulled it into a pony tail and slid on your brother's army hat.

You went to the kitchen and made a bacon, egg and cheese muffin in the microwave like your nurse friend had shown you as an easy breakfast you could make in a hurry. You made an entire pot of Peppermint tea and poured it into your thermos so you had enough to last you through the day.

You sat down with your breakfast and a glass of orange juice as you checked your e-mails on your phone. You had a message from your counselor reminding you of your appointment tomorrow, and some e-mails from your friends back home wondering how you were faring in your new home. You replied to the e-mails as you ate, telling your friends about Gary and his sons and how much of a blessing they have been to you since you met them.

Your friend, the firefighter who had found you called you and the two of you talked for a bit until you had to leave. You told him about Gary and his sons and how Gary asked you out on a date in the not so distant future. Your friend told you he was happy for you and he hoped your relationship with Gary worked out. He teased, "I want an invite to the wedding!" and you both giggled as you said goodbye.

You picked up your shoes and loosened the laces so you could slide into them and then grabbed your keys, purse and thermos. You headed out the door and down the hallway to Gary's door. You rang the doorbell and looked down at your feet, staring at your unlaced shoes. You looked up when you heard the lock turn and Donnie opened the door.

He grinned and stepped aside to let you in. "Dad, Y/n's here!" he called out. You chuckled.

"I like your outfit!" he said as he looked at your jacket.

"Thanks Donnie, The jacket and hat were my brother's. They were in his duffel bag and when the tornado hit, it flung the bag almost 50 miles away. It landed in a farmer's yard and he saw the name on it and called the Army. They somehow gave him my last known address and he brought it to my hometown. When he learned I was in the hospital from the tornado hitting, he brought the duffel bag up to the hospital and gave it to one of my nurses. She apparently dumped it out and washed all the clothes and linens and put all the important stuff like his id, dog tags, and medals into a bag and kept it in the hospital's safe until I was ready to leave." you explain.

"Wow!!! Cool!" Donnie says. You chuckle. Donnie looks down at your feet and sees your shoes are untied. "Did you need some help tying your shoes, y/n?' he asks. You look down and nod.

"Yeah, I hoped one of you might help me out with that one. I can't reach them to tie them. Usually I just have them loose so I can slip in and out of them, but I got yelled at by my PT for doing that cuz it's hard on the heels of the shoes and it doesn't give my feet the proper support they need." you explain. "I haven't figured out yet what to do for them so I don't have to ask for help every time I want to wear them." you sigh.

Donnie chuckles and kneels down to tie them for you. "Well for now, you can come ask us, at least till school starts." he says. You grin and thank him.

Just then, Gary comes around the corner from his room and sees Donnie kneeling down, tying your shoes for you. He grins and comes over to give you a hug. "Sleep well?" he asks. You nod.

"You?" you ask him. Gary rubs his neck, "Yeah, till around 2am, then Trey had either a flash back or a nightmare about the tornadoes, then we were all up for a while. Ended up camping in the living room again." he sheepishly admitted. "We're all dragging a bit this morning." he informed you.

"It's ok, I alotted enough time so we'd get there early anyway. We can pick up breakfast for you guys on the way if you want." you offer. He grins and thanks you.

"Trey, you almost ready?" Gary asks. "Yeah, I'm coming." Trey replies as he comes walking into the kitchen with a yawn. "Rough night, Trey?" you ask. He nods. "yeah." is all he says.

"Well I think you'll like where we are going and what you'll see." you tell him. Hinting at the day's plans. He looks at you questioningly. You grin.

"Come on, I'll get you all breakfast. Let's get going." you tell them.

"Would you mind if I brought my video camera with, Y/n?" Donnie asks.

"No, you can bring it if you want." You tell him.

Gary chuckles. "Donnie likes to take videos of stuff we do as a family." he explains.

You smile and nod. "Come on then, lets head out." you tell them.

Gary opens the door for you and the four of you head out. Donnie locks the door and you all head to the parking lot. You walk over to your gold 2003 Honda Accord and unlock the doors for them with your key fob. You open the skylight and they all climb in. You laugh as Gary has to slide the front seat back a bit for his long legs. Much to Trey's dismay. "DAD!!! You're squashing my legs!" he teases. Gary just laughs and scoots the seat up one notch.

You chuckle at the two of them. "So what do you guys want for breakfast?" you ask. They decide on a fast food restaurant so you head there and go through the drive through, they place their orders and everyone gets orange juice to drink and Gary also gets a coffee.

"Aren't you gonna eat, y/n?" Trey asks after you pay for the food and hand them the bags of food and the drink trays. You chuckle, "No, Trey, I ate already." you tell them, "You guys go ahead and eat. I have to drive anyway."

They eat and try to figure out where you're taking them. Once you pull into the parking lot, Trey's eyes get huge. "Are you getting your dog today, y/n?" he asks excitedly. Gary looks over at you and you try not to smirk. But the twinkle in your eyes and your grin tell him that is exactly what is going to happen. "You'll just have to come in and see for yourself, Trey." you manage to get out. Gary just chuckles.

You all hop out of your car and head over to the building. You hand Gary your keys and tell him that if the boys get bored, he can take them to go do something else but to leave you his cell number so you can call him when you're done. He grins and looks down at you. "I realized last night, I didn't have your phone number." he chuckles. "Felt kinda dumb, knowing I asked you to go out with me and forgot to get your cell number." he teases.

You giggle. "Here, give me your phone and I'll put mine in yours and you can put yours in for mine." you tell him. The two of you swap phones and enter your phone numbers and names into the cell phones. Donnie and Trey are looking around at all the people and dogs. They see you and their dad messing around on cell phones and come over to see what you two are doing. They both get huge grins when they see the two of you hand the phones back to each other.

Donnie claps and teases his dad, "So ya finally got her number huh? I suppose that means you two are dating?" he pokes his dad's arm with a grin.

Gary blushes and looks at you. You nod and he says, "Yeah, Donnie, we're dating." Donnie grins a huge grin. "Good! So, y/n where is your dog?" he asks looking back to the line of dogs.

You look for the one that looks like a gray wolf but don't see him yet. "I'm not sure. But we are here about 10 minutes early, so he may not be here yet." you tell them. "Let's go find a place for you guys to sit and watch. I need to go check in and let them know I'm here." you tell them.

You all walk over to some seating that has been set up. You introduce yourself and Gary and his kids to the attendant and she instructs Gary and his sons to have a seat on the bleachers or in the chairs on the floor. She tells you to head over to the table to get the paperwork that will need to be filled out and get registered. 

You give Gary a hug and then they head over to sit and watch while you go to the table to fill out all the paperwork. You come back over to them after a few minutes with a pile of papers. You sit down and start reading through them. The boys ask you questions and you let each of them read the paperwork after you finish reading and signing them. They hand each one to Gary when they are done reading them and he takes a look at them as well. Once you all have read through everything, you head back over to the table to turn in said paperwork. You are given a number and told to come up to the podium when your number is called and you will be matched up with your dog and it's handler.

You head back to sit with Gary and the kids until your number is called. You all have fun looking at all the different kinds of dogs that people are getting. Some of the people are veterans of war, some are missing limbs, some are civilians who are needing the animal for a variety of reasons. The four of you watch in rapt fascination as you are able to observe the different people learning how to handle their dogs and give them different signals. Some of the ones who are helping people with missing limbs are even able to help them get from the floor to a sitting or standing position, which fascinates Trey.

You are one of the last people called to be trained with your dog. You head over to the arena's podium when some of the other recipients and their dogs head out. Your handler explained why they saved your dog for last.

"Because he was trained to help with your anxiety, flashbacks, and also as a guard dog, we wanted to wait till the other dogs had left the arena." the handler explained. "Your training will be different than the others'." you asked the handler if your boyfriend and his children should also be trained to handle Zeus should something happen to you where you need help. He thought for a minute, then replied, "If you think it would be beneficial and you see this being a long term situation, then yes, they should also be trained to handle him. That way he will consider them part of his 'pack'. " the handler replied.

You went to tell Gary and the boys and they were surprised, but agreed to come and be trained. They followed you back to the arena where Zeus sat patiently with his handler. The handler had you all line up and introduced each of you to Zeus and showed you how to introduce him to people you deem ok. He sniffed each of your hands and then licked them. The handler told you that when he does that he is learning your scent and him licking your hand is his way of learning the taste of your skin and strengthening the scent marker for him. He instructed all of you what to look for when Zeus realizes you are having a panic / anxiety attack, flashback and tells you what to do as far as how to handle him. Donnie asks the handler if he would mind if he video taped the training, so if they have a question or can't remember something, that they can go back and rewatch the video. The trainers nodded and gave him permission.

The trainer shows you all how to put on Zeus' service animal vest for when you are out in public and shows you each patch signifying what all he is trained in. Companion animal, Service animal, scent tracking, and guard dog / body guard. He explains to all of you how to handle the public when they approach you while Zeus is "working" and instructs you all not to let the public pet Zeus when he is working unless you feel it is okay. He reminds you all of the proper way to introduce Zeus to people and has you all practice it.

Then he informs you what businesses can and can not do to both you and Zeus. He tells you to always keep Zeus' paperwork in his holster on his vest so you have it with you all the time. He gives you the information to report a business that violates the laws regarding service animals which you enter into your phone immediately.

He shows you all how to care for Zeus and then starts to teach you all the hand signals / commands for the dog. "We taught him with nonverbal commands so only you and those you choose will be able to command him. He will only respond if it is people in his 'pack' giving him the commands." you all are told. "You may train him with verbal commands as well if you like but use the hand symbols to reinforce the command so he makes the connection between the two." you are instructed.

The trainers and handlers spend the rest of the morning with you all as you learn the commands and practice them with Zeus. The last thing they show you before lunch is how he was trained to protect you. They teach you all what to look for as his warnings when he senses something or someone he deems isn't safe to be around.

They also show you how he is trained to attack, how to give the command for him to attack and how to get him to stop. Trey is fascinated by the trainer in all the padding until he sees the handler give Zeus the command to attack the trainer in all the padding. The dog lurches forward at a run and is snarling and growling and barking as he charges the trainer. He jumps and grabs the trainer's arm which was holding a gun, and the dog brings the trainer to the ground and keeps him from being unable to use the gun. Once the command to stop is given the dog immediately stops and backs up, letting another trainer in a police uniform help the trainer up.

Next they show how he attacks if you are attacked by someone from behind. Another trainer in padding comes up behind you with a rubber knife and holds it to your throat. The trainer tells you to give Zeus the command to attack and to just stand still after that.

You do so and Zeus attacks the man's legs and gets him away from you and then goes after the hand with the weapon. When you are instructed to tell Zeus to stop, you do and he stops immediately and backs up between you and the attacker while he waits for the trainer in the police uniform to help the other trainer up.

Finally they show you what to do if you are being mugged by someone who is standing in front of you with a knife. You are instructed to give Zeus the signal to attack and he charges the person in the padding attacking them in the arm first to disarm the knife then when the attacker starts to struggle against the dog, he goes for the groin, making Danny, Gary and Trey cringe and unconsciously cover their crotches. You try not to giggle. Zeus drops the attacker with that move and keeps the trainer pinned to the ground. They tell you to give him the command to stop. You do it and again Zeus backs up to allow the trainer in the cop uniform to help the other trainer up.

They go through a few more pieces of information with you and then emphasize to Gary's boys, that the attack commands are meant for your protection and are ONLY to be used in cases where you are truly in danger. They emphasize to all of you, that Zeus will not attack unless given the signal, but he WILL raise his heckles, growl and act menacingly to try to scare off anyone he senses is a danger to his 'pack' and that you all should never ignore those signals from him.

They recommend you teach him a command to "Go get Gary... Go get Trey... Go get Donnie." once you get home and show him how to get from your apartment to theirs and to show him where the doorbell is for each apartment. They told Gary and his sons, that Zeus will ring the doorbell incessantly until someone answers and that if that happens to tell him to "find y/n" and that they should follow him immediately to wherever he leads. They nod, wide eyed at the dog and Gary looks at you amazed.

They give you all some time to get to know Zeus and they take his "Work vest" off. They tell you all that he knows what is expected of him when he has his vest on, and that he knows that when he has it off, he is allowed to play and be a normal dog, but that he will still do all his training if the need arises.

They let you all play with him in the arena and let him get used to his new 'pack'. He seems to have a particular affinity for you and Trey and repeatedly nuzzles the two of you often. He goes to Gary and Donnie as well, but seems to favor you and Trey moreso at the moment.

Gary asks the trainer in the officer's uniform about that. The trainer tells him, "Zeus can sense different things, for some reason, he senses Trey is struggling with something and is trying to give him comfort like he was trained to do." 

Gary asks the trainer if the training Zeus received to be a guard dog is any different than what a police dog gets. The trainer chuckles. "Well I'm a K-9 officer here and I help train our dogs for the city's PD. Zeus' training is very similar to what our police dogs go through. The only thing Zeus didn't get trained for is 'search and rescue' and 'drug sniffing'. Otherwise it's pretty much the same training as the K-9's get for the PD. You can rest assured, she is well protected." he tells Gary with a chuckle.

Gary's eyes widen for a moment. "Oh! I was wondering if you were a real officer or if you were dressed like one as part of the training." he replied.

The officer chuckles. "No, I'm a real officer. We get called on every once in a while to do this kind of training for special cases." he explained. "We heard about y/n's story from some friends in the Fire Dept and they asked us if we'd train y/n's service dog to be a guard dog as well since she is new here and has no living family left to help protect her. They wanted to be able to assure their comrades in her hometown that had rescued her from the apartment that she would be kept safe here. So we did the training, free of charge as a favor to them." he explained with a grin.

Gary thanked him. "I just met y/n a few days ago, and we've fallen in love with her. We are from Silverton and realized we had a lot in common with her once we got to talking. We were out in Sillverton when the tornadoes hit last summer. Trey and I were trying to find Donnie when the storms hit our community during graduation. Donnie got trapped in a paper mill that had collapsed on him and his friend. Trey and I ended up traveling with storm chasers to try to get through Silverton and the storms to rescue Donnie. We almost lost him and each other. A few more minutes delay and Donnie would've drowned in the pit they jumpted into. It has filled with water by the time we got there and yeah, it was real scary. The boys and I have all battled with the flashbacks and nightmares from it." Gary told the officer.

The officer looked at Gary surprised."Wow. Well I'm glad you all survived. Y/n seems like a great gal and I hope Zeus serves her well. Hopefully he can help you three also when you are with her." he tells Gary. "Don't be afraid to ask for help though, with yours and your boys' flashbacks and nightmares. Even we officers, go to counseling to help us cope with a lot of the shit we see on the beat. It helps immensely to be able to talk about everything and be able to get a fresh perspective on things." he mentions to Gary.

Gary nods. "My youngest had a bad one last night and asked to go and talk to the ones that y/n sees." he informs the officer. The officer puts his hand on Gary's shoulder, "Then I suggest you schedule an appointment soon. Zeus will help him when he's around, but the best thing you can do for your boys is to take them to see the counselors y/n sees. It would also encourage them if you went and participated as well. They have different options. There's sessions you can do as a family, or you can let the boys do individual ones, and so can you if there's things you need to discuss that you don't want your boys hearing about." The officer recommends. "Talk to y/n and have her help you set it up." he suggests.

Gary nods and thanks him. "Any time, Gary, any time."

Zeus comes running up and drops a ball at Gary's feet and sits down and gives him a quiet "wuff". The Officer chuckles. "He wants you to throw the ball." he tells Gary.

Gary squats down and picks up the ball. Zeus nuzzles his hand and licks it as he picks up the ball. "wuff" Zeus says to Gary and Gary chuckles and tosses the ball over by Trey and you.

"Ok, folks, I think that's enough play time for Zeus. Do you have any other questions before I let you leave with your new dog?" the officer asks. No one has any questions so he puts Zeus' vest back on and hands each of you his card. "If you have any problems or questions about Zeus of his behavior, don't hesitate to call me and ask." he tells you all. "I will also put my card in here on Zeus' vest so if you lose your card, or someone needs to know who trained him for the body guard aspect you can show them this card in his vest pocket." the officer tells you.

You nod and thank all the handlers and the trainers. They all wish you luck and let you head out with Zeus. You clip the leash onto his harness and you take your supplies they gave you and Zeus' toys and you head out into the sunshine.

"So what now, y/n?" Trey asks. You think for a minute. "Well, I need to go to the pet store to get him food and supplies. So I guess you're all coming with!" you giggle. Trey and Donnie cheer. "Can he sit in back with us while you're driving?" they ask, making you chuckle.

Well, I don't think your Dad would enjoy having a big dog like Zeus sitting in his lap in the car, so yes, Zeus can sit in back with you two." You tell them.

Gary chuckles when they both cheer. You unlock the car and hit the button for the trunk release. You put the bag of paperwork and Zeus's toys and supplies in the trunk of the car. Then everyone piles in and Zeus hops up next to Trey in the back seat, then Donnie gets in and closes the door.

"Everyone in?" you ask.

"Yup!" Trey replies.

You pull up the closest pet store place and head there. Gary studies your face for a bit while you're driving. You glance over at him and chuckle. "What?" you ask him.

He just grins, "It's nothing." he says and looks back at the two boys with the dog. Zeus is sprawled across both of their laps. His rear on Donnie's lap and his head on Trey's. They're both petting him and looking out the windows.

"I think that's the quietest I've seen them in the car in quite a while." he says quietly.

You grin.

You see the pet store up ahead and pull into the parking lot. You park and look back at the two boys, who are thoroughly enjoying the dog's presence. "Well, we're here. Now to find all the stuff I'm gonna need." you sigh.

I'm gonna have to take one of you shopping with me when I need to get food for him. There's no way I'm gonna be able to pick up those big bags of food!" you tell them. The three of them just grin. "Anytime y/n!" they say and then laugh.

You all get out of the car and Trey holds onto the leash until you walk around the car to join them. "Here, y/n." he tells you holding out the leash. You think for a moment, "How about you hang onto him for me, Trey. I'm gonna need my hands free to push the cart and grab the stuff he will need." you suggest.

Gary smiles when he sees Trey's face light up. "Really? I can walk him for you?" he asks. You give him a grin and nod. He just beams and says, "Come on Zeus, lets go get you some stuff for your new home with y/n!"

Zeus looks up at Trey and says, "Wuff." which makes Donnie giggle.

You all head to the door of the store and Gary grabs a shopping cart. He lets you push it and you ask the employee standing by the door where the section for dogs starts. She points you over to the left side of the store and says, "That whole half of the store is for Dogs. Oh! What a beautiful dog! May I pet him?" she asks

"Thank you, but not right now. He is working and we just got him and are still getting used to him and his mannerisms." you tell her. She nods. "If you have any questions on what you'll need, feel free to ask any of us working here." she tells you. You thank her and the four of you head over to the Dog section with Zeus.

Gary watches Zeus' reactions to everything carefully. He is surprised that Zeus stays right by Trey's side and doesn't try to go wandering around and doesn't try to chew on the toys that are right next to him. Whenever you stop to look at something, Zeus just sits down and watches you, patiently waiting for you to move on with your shopping.

You look at the different dog foods and wonder which one Zeus would eat. "Zeus, which food do you want?" you decide to ask him. He gets up and comes over to you and looks up at you. "Get your food, Zeus." you tell him.

He cocks his head to the side and you repeat yourself to him. He stands and walks over to the food bags and starts to sniff each one looking for the one he is familiar with. Trey follows him holding onto the leash, letting him smell each bag. When Zeus finds the one he wants, he sits down by it and says, "Wuff" then noses the bag.

You look at Gary and Donnie and shrug. "I guess that is the one he was fed by his handler." you reply. "I wonder how much he will be eating?" you ponder. "Let's get two bags and see how long it lasts him." you say.

Donnie walks over and picks up one bag and plops it into the shopping cart, then goes and gets another one and drops it in too. You notice the metal garbage looking cans for storing dog food and point to one of them on the top shelf. "Can one of you guys grab that for me?" you ask. Gary goes over and pulls it down. "I'll just carry it for you, y/n. I don't think it'll fit in that shopping cart." he chuckles.

You nod and thank Gary. You all wander through the aisles, picking out a de-shedding comb, and shampoo and clippers for the toe nails, a dog bed, dog bowl for food and one for water.

"Dad, can we get him a water bowl and some toys to have at our place for when he comes to visit?" Trey asks. Gary shrugs. "If you want to get them you can, Trey. You're earning money with the paper route you do in the mornings." Gary replies.

"y/n, do you mind if I do that?" Trey asks.

You chuckle, "That's fine, Trey, that way I won't have to lug toys and such back and forth. Trey takes Zeus over to the toys and tells him to pick out some toys.

You all watch as the dog sniffs at different toys and noses some of them. He picks out a frizbee, a ball, a big rawhide bone and a squeaky duck. He proudly carries the duck back to you squeaking it repeatedly with a goofy look on his face. You laugh and try to take it to put it in the cart and he tries to "Wuff" with it in his mouth. Trey giggles and tells him. "Zeus..." when the dog looks at Trey, he motions to the dog to 'drop' the toy. Zeus huffs and drops the duck. Trey picks it up and carries it with the other stuff Zeus picked out for toys.

Trey takes Zeus back to where the food and water bowls are and picks out a water bowl for Zeus to have at their place. Then they come back to where the rest of you are at.

"Hey! Look at these!" Donnie says as he grabs something and brings it over to you. "Look, they clip on the leash and it's a little roll of bags you tear off to put his poo in when you take him for walks!" He says as he shows it to you.

You giggle and tell him to toss it in the cart. "Does it have refills?" you ask. He goes back to look and nods. "Better grab a pack of the refills too. I'll need them eventually." you reply.

"Is there anything else we need?" you ponder. You spot an employee and call him over. You explain you just got Zeus and don't know what all you will need. He looks at what all you picked out and asks, do you have a flea and tick collar for him? They need to be replaced every so often. He shows you where they are located and you pick one out. Trey looks to see if he has one on now and he does. "When that one wears out, depending on when it was put on him, just replace it with this one when the time rolls around." the employee tells you.

"You might want to consider getting a tooth brush and tooth paste for him, they are over here and it's really easy to get them to let you brush their teeth. Don't forget treats and I might suggest getting a tag for his collar with his name on one side, and yours and your phone number on the other side. In case something happens and he gets separated from you." the employee suggests. "It makes it much easier for people to return the pet if they can just look on the collar instead of having to take him to a vet to have the microchip read." he informs you. You nod. "Well, he is a working dog, and not just a pet, but I think that is a good idea anyway." you reply. "Thank You!" you tell him.

You grab the toothbrush and paste, and show Zeus a couple different packages of treats. "Zeus, which treats do you like?" you ask pointing to the bags. He goes over and sniffs them he picks up one bag and brings it to you. You motion for 'drop' and he drops it then walks back over and sniffs the bags again and picks out another one, bringing it to you and drops it. "Good boy!" you praise him. 

Donnie grins and puts the other treat bags back in their spots on the shelf, and grabs another one of the bags of treats that Zeus picked out to keep at their apartment. He tosses it to Trey who grins and catches it and adds it to his pile in his arms. He spots a basket and dumps them all in the basket then picks it up and carries it.

You all head up to the till area and spot the name tag machine. You head over to the machine and Trey and Zeus follow. Gary offers to stay in line with the cart and wait for you with Donnie. You and Trey pick out a fire hydrant tag and you type _Hi, I'm_ _Zeus!_ for the front of the tag, and on the back you type in _Y/n and your phone number._ Trey watches in fascination as the lazer engraves the information on the tag, flips it over and engraves the name and phone number on the back, then drops it into the grab bin. He reaches in and pulls it out and looks at it.

"Cool!" he exclaims and hands it to you. You head back over to the Cash register and stand in line with Gary and Donnie. You show them the tag and then spot a little medical information booklet that you can keep in your purse and put all of Zeus' info in it. You grab one and toss it in the cart too.

Zeus sits patiently by Trey's legs, careful to keep out of the way of other people and shopping carts. "What a well behaved dog!" a lady behind you says.

You turn and say, "Thank You! We just got him as a service animal for me." You reply.

The lady huffs and looks at you, "Why do you need a service animal?" she says snidely. "You look fine!"

You hear Gary growl under his breath. You put a hand on his back and give it a gentle rub.

"I have spinal and pelvis injuries which required massive surgery and months of rehab after a tornado ripped through my hometown last summer, causing my apartment building to collapse on top of me. I suffer from PTSD and also have difficulty doing some everyday tasks. Zeus here is my service dog to help me with those things that I need help with." you patiently explain. My boyfriend and his two wonderful sons, here offered to help me shop for supplies for my new dog. That is why Trey is holding onto Zeus for me." you tell her.

"Oh." she replies. You turn and move forward when you see the line shift up. You look up at Gary and he is smiling at you. He wraps an arm around your shoulder and kisses the top of your head. You lean into him and wrap your arm around his waist. Once you reach the cashier, Donnie unloads the stuff onto the conveyor belt and you move to pay for the supplies. "Will you let me get these for you this time?" Gary whispers to you as he watches Donnie unloading the supplies. You look up at him surprised. "Why?" you ask quietly.

"Because I'd like to and can afford it, and want to help you out." Gary replies. You shrug. "If you want to, I guess you can." you tell him. He kisses the top of your head again and pulls out his wallet. He hands the cashier his card and pays for the supplies. Trey puts his basket on the belt behind your purchases and the cashier rings them up as Donnie loads the cart back up. Trey pays for his purchases and then you all head out to the car. "Thank you, Gary. You didn't have to do that, you know." you tell him as Trey pushes the cart and you hang onto Zeus' leash.

"I know. But I wanted to." he says, giving you a gentle hug. You smile and give his waist a squeeze as the two of you walk to the car. You pull out your keys and push the button for the trunk. "Think you two can load that stuff into the trunk for me?" you ask. They grin and nod. You unlock the car and you let Zeus in the back seat and motion for him to sit. He does so and waits for Donnie and Trey to get in the car. You and Gary get in the front and hold hands. "So now what do you wish to do for the rest of the afternoon?" he asks.

"I'm hungry. How about we go get some food and ice cream for dessert?" you ask. Gary grins and nods. Trey and Donnie hop into the car and Zeus is excitedly licking their faces. They both start laughing and pull the doors closed.

You start the car and head to your favourite restaurant that serves food and icecream. You all order and the waitress asks if you got a new dog. You tell her yes, and introduces her to Zeus. You explain he is your service dog. She asks if you would mind if she brought your dog a little treat. You nod and tell her that is fine. She heads off to place the orders. She brings you all your beverages and a bowl of water for Zeus. Then she leaves you all to talk and after a while she brings your all your food. She even has a little plate with some steak cut up in bite size pieces for Zeus. He gives her a soft "Wuff" and goes about eating his treat while you all eat. You feel him lie down by your ankle and grin.

The server comes back over and asks how your food is, and takes the empty plate that had Zeus' food on it. You all finish eating and then order ice cream for dessert. They have an ice cream bar where you can pick from different flavors, so you all go over to see what they have. You pick out a mint chocolate chip and a chocolate and marshmallow swirl ice cream. Donnie picks a moose tracks ice cream, Trey picks the superman rainbow swirl icecream and Gary picks a double chocolate chip ice cream. You ask the server if you could have a small scoop of plain vanilla for your service dog and he smiles and scoops out a small scoop, puts it on a doggie sized ice cream cone and lays it in a bowl for Zeus. He hands you the bowl and smiles.

You all walk back to the table to enjoy your ice cream and you all chuckle and look under the table when you hear Zeus grunting and crunching on the ice cream cone. "I didn't think he'd actually eat the cone!" Donnie said chuckling. "He seems to really like it." Gary said chuckling as Zeus looked up and licked his chops.

"Are you guys ready to head home? I could sure use a nap!" You ask. "Donnie and Trey nod, but you notice Gary looks bummed. "Y/n, could you come over after your nap and watch us play some video games again?" Trey asked. You looked at Gary and he smiled and nodded.

You grinned. "Sure. I just need to get a few things situated with Zeus and then we will be over after my nap." You promise, making Trey grin.

You all stand up, and Zeus backs out from under the table where he was hiding. "Come on Zeus, let's go home." you tell him. His ears perk up at the word 'Home' and he sits patiently for you to get ready to go. You take the leash and start heading for the cashier. You hand her your debit card and pay for everyone's food. Then you all head out and pile back into the car. You listen to the two young men in the back seat talking about the video games they were playing and you glance over at Gary. He is grinning and looking at you. You blush and pat his hand that is resting on the arm rest next to you. He smiles and takes your hand in his and brings it up to his lips and gives it a gentle kiss.

You grin and give his hand a squeeze as his kiss sent butterflies loose in your belly. You are tired from all the activity you aren't used to and sigh contentedly. Gary chuckles and gives your hand another gentle squeeze. Soon enough you all are back at the apartment. You let Zeus and Trey and Donnie have fun exploring around the outside of the apartment. While they are doing so, Gary leans against one of the trees and pulls you close to him.

"Thank you for taking us with you this morning." he tells you. "I think Trey might be hanging out at your apartment a lot in the forseeable future. He always wanted a dog, but his mom was allergic to them and always told him no." he explained.

You grinned. "You and the boys are always welcome at my place, Gary." you remind him and give him a hug. "Thanks for coming with, and helping out with the shopping." you say with a wink. Gary grins and kisses you gently. "Want me to have the boys carry up the bags of food for you?" he asked.

You nodded. "Well I certainly can't lift them!" you chuckle. He smirks.

You hit the button to open the trunk and Gary moves over to take out the can and the bags of dog food. He hands you the bags with your other purchases and the stuff from the Trainers. Gary calls the boys over to carry the bags of Dog food up to your apartment and he takes the metal Can for you. You all head up and you let them go first so you can let Zeus sniff around and get familiarized with the apartment building.

You see the manager of the building and introduce him to Zeus and explain he is your new service dog. The man happily holds out his hand to Zeus who sniffs it and gives it a lick. The manager asks if he can pet Zeus. You tell him he can this time, but normally you aren't going to let people pet him when he is 'working' in his vest. He gives Zeus a scratch on the head behind his ears and you giggle as Zeus' leg starts thumping on the floor as the manager hits an itchy spot. He chuckles and welcomes Zeus to the apartment.

You thank him and head up to the landing where the guys are waiting for you. You tell Zeus that this door is where Gary, Donnie and Trey live and show him the doorbell. Zeus sniffs around the door and the doorbell then sniffs Trey's and Donnie's and Gary's feet. They chuckle and you head down the hall with them until you get to your apartment. You open the door and head in with Zeus. Gary and the boys following.

"Where do you want the can for the food, Y/n?" Gary asks. You think and tell him to put it in the storage room and to have the boys fill it with the two bags." he nods. "Gary, put one of the empty bags between the can and the wall so I remember which bag of food I need to get for him next time and so the can won't scratch the wall.

"Ok, Love." he replies and they go to take care of the dog food. You sit down on the couch and take Zeus' vest and harness off. You let him snoop around and get familiarized with the apartment.

Soon Gary and the boys are standing in the living room watching you interact with Zeus. "We'll head out, Y/n, so you can take a nap and rest up. Come over when you're ready to hang out and watch us play some video games." Gary tells you.

You look up, smile and nod. "Thanks again you guys, for coming with and all your help!" You tell them.

"Bye Zeus," Trey says as he squats down and motions for Zeus to 'come'. Zeus trots over and Trey gives him a good scratch along the collar and smuches his face into the dog's fur. "See you after a while. Be good for y/n now!" he tells the dog. Zeus licks his face and puts his chin on Trey's shoulder like a hug. Trey melts and looks up at his Dad, who just chuckles.

Gary comes over to you and gives you a peck on the cheek and tells you. "See you later, Love. Go to sleep now and get some rest."

You nod and follow them to the door. Zeus follows and you motion for him to 'sit' and 'stay' before you open the door. He does so and the guys step out of your apartment and the two boys head down the hallway. Gary looks over his shoulder and then looks back at you and gives you a steamy, passionate kiss as he pulls you close for a hug. You grin and bring your hands up in to his hair and he lets out a quiet groan and pulls you up against him and nibbles at your lower lip.

His phone starts to ring and he groans, "Brats! They have keys and can get in." he mumbles into the kiss. You giggle and he pulls away. "I will see you in a few hours, Sweetie." you tell him and give him another kiss. Go spend some time with your boys. I'll text you when I'm on my way." you tell him. He sighs and nods. He gives you one more peck on the cheek and turns to leave. He stops at the corner and looks back at you and Zeus standing in the doorway. He gives you his panty melting grin and nods before turning the corner and heads down the hall.

You sigh happily and close the door and lock it.

"Come on, Zeus, let's get your bed set up so I can go take a nap!


End file.
